NEWS: Everything To Know About Davido’s “A Better Time” Album from his New York Times Interview.

 

Nigerian Afrobeats artist David Adedeji Adeleke, best known as Davido, has built an international career on songs about love and lust that have collectively amassed more than a billion streams. His third studio album releasing on Friday, “A Better Time,” is filled with them.

The 27-year-old musician focuses on lighthearted topics. But one of his latest songs, FEM,has become an anthem of resistance. Speaking on the #EndSars Protests and his meeting with Nigeria’s speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila he says:

“THEY KEPT ON SAYING, ‘YEAH, BUT GIVE US TIME, GIVE US TIME, BUT IT’S LIKE, YO, WE’VE GIVEN YOU TIME. YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FIGHTING THIS SYSTEM SINCE 1960. IT’S LONG OVERDUE. AND IT DOESN’T EVEN END WITH SARS. ENDSARS IS ONE OF A MILLION PROBLEMS.”

Speaking on the album, Davido stated that it only consists of music that makes people happy, noting that Africans always like to find joy regardless of what situations they face.

Davido had to cancel his sold-out, 26-show American tour soon after it began due to the pandemic, however, this may somewhat now be viewed as a blessing in disguise as this period saw to the production of over a dozen songs, 17 of which are on the new album. “I just kept on recording. I had nothing else to do,” he said.

Having been born and spent a considerable amount of time in America, Davido says “I’m from both sides of the world. I’m from Nigeria and at the same time, I’m from America. And it’s like both sides are going crazy right now.”

Speaking on the influence of America on his sound, he asserts,

I WOULDN’T SAY MY TIME IN THE STATES AFFECTS MY AFRICAN MUSIC. BUT MY STYLE, THE WAY I DRESS, MY ATTITUDE, MY CHARISMA, THE WAY I RUN MY LABEL — I THINK I GET A LOT OF THAT FROM STUDYING THE AMERICAN SYSTEM AND PEOPLE LIKE 50 CENT.

He reiterates that his biggest records in America are records where he spoke in his local dialect. Also recounting how his “Holy Ground” collaboration with Nicki Minaj came to be, he said he had reached out to her on Instagram where she follows him,

I’M LIKE, ‘HELLO, NICKI, I’M A BIG FAN. I GOT A HIT FOR US.’ SHE SAYS, ‘SEND IT.’ I’M LIKE, WHAT? AND THEN I SEND IT. AND TWO DAYS LATER SHE SENT IT BACK. THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED: NO LABEL IN BETWEEN, NO MUTUAL FRIEND, NOTHING LIKE THAT. IT WAS JUST PLAIN MAGIC.

Speaking on the album, Davido stated that it only consists of music that makes people happy, noting that Africans always like to find joy regardless of what situations they face.

Davido had to cancel his sold-out, 26-show American tour soon after it began due to the pandemic, however, this may somewhat now be viewed as a blessing in disguise as this period saw to the production of over a dozen songs, 17 of which are on the new album. 

“I JUST KEPT ON RECORDING. I HAD NOTHING ELSE TO DO,” HE SAID.

Having been born and spent a considerable amount of time in America, Davido says “I’m from both sides of the world. I’m from Nigeria and at the same time, I’m from America. And it’s like both sides are going crazy right now.”

Speaking on the influence of America on his sound, he asserts,

I WOULDN’T SAY MY TIME IN THE STATES AFFECTS MY AFRICAN MUSIC. BUT MY STYLE, THE WAY I DRESS, MY ATTITUDE, MY CHARISMA, THE WAY I RUN MY LABEL — I THINK I GET A LOT OF THAT FROM STUDYING THE AMERICAN SYSTEM AND PEOPLE LIKE 50 CENT.

He reiterates that his biggest records in America are records where he spoke in his local dialect.

WHILE HIS INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE EXPANDED, DAVIDO FOUND HIMSELF SINGING MORE, NOT FEWER, LYRICS IN YORUBA RATHER THAN ENGLISH. “BACK IN THE DAY, I’D SAY EVERYBODY REALLY HAD THE MIND-SET THAT, ‘OH, THE MORE ENGLISH YOU SING, THE MORE THEY UNDERSTAND YOU,’” HE SAID. “BUT MY BIGGEST RECORDS IN AMERICA ARE RECORDS WHERE I’VE SPOKEN MY DIALECT.”

Also recounting how his “Holy Ground” collaboration with Nicki Minaj came to be, he said he had reached out to her on Instagram where she follows him,

I’M LIKE, ‘HELLO, NICKI, I’M A BIG FAN. I GOT A HIT FOR US.’ SHE SAYS, ‘SEND IT.’ I’M LIKE, WHAT? AND THEN I SEND IT. AND TWO DAYS LATER SHE SENT IT BACK. THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED: NO LABEL IN BETWEEN, NO MUTUAL FRIEND, NOTHING LIKE THAT. IT WAS JUST PLAIN MAGIC.

Although excited about his new body of work, Davido admits that not being able to perform as a result of the Pandemic is taking a toll on him.

Read the full interview here.