GRAMMY-nominated artist, Davido has credited D’banj as the first Nigerian musician to achieve global stardom, thereby, putting the Nigerian music industry on the world map.
According to the “Unavailable” crooner, D’banj’s 2012 hit single ‘Oliver Twist’ was what put the Nigerian music industry on the global map as he believes Nigerian artists were not getting international bookings before then.
Speaking in a recent interview with Apple Music, Davido said D’banj’s “Oliver Twist” success was responsible for Americans to start booking the likes of 2Face and P-Square.
“D’banj was my first vision of a Nigerian artist taking over the world. No one in America was booking Nigerian artists for shows but that changed when I saw Kanye West in D’banj’s ‘Oliver Twist’ video on YouTube.
“It was because of the success of ‘Oliver Twist’ that Americans started booking D’banj, 2Face, P-Square and other African artists for shows. They were making about $1,000,000 per show. So I decided to switch and start doing African music because that’s where I am from,” he said.
Many fans will not agree with Davido's take on this because back in the 70’s, 80s and 90’s Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, King Sunny Ade and Majek Fashek were popular on the international stage. While 2face's “African Queen” released in 2004 won several international awards