Because I refused to stop making music, my father arrested my friends, fans and promoters – Davido

About two years after I began recording, my father first learned that I was a musician.

Davido, an Afrobeats artist and producer, has shared his story of starting a music career against the wishes of his father.

His father, Adedeji Adeleke, is the CEO of Pacific Holdings Limited, a rich business tycoon, and the president of Adeleke University.

Davido discussed his artistic journey and how his father first opposed his music profession in an interview with the Los Angeles radio station Real 92.3.

The American Afrobeats musician, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia, claimed that his father was unaware of his musical prowess until roughly two years after he began playing.

The most popular African artist on Instagram and Twitter, Davido, claims that he kept his father in the dark about his music because he admired him and didn’t want to let him down either.

He said, “I come from a family where you go to school; after that, you will work for dad. It is a business and Christian family. That’s why I didn’t let my people know I was a musician.”

“My Dad didn’t know I was a musician till about two years after I started recording. I’m the last child of five. All my siblings graduated and had their master’s degrees. So, I was expected to do the same.”

The 30-year-old musician mentioned that he once had a major event, and his father had called the police to arrest him, the promoter, and everyone else in the front row. He had previously studied business administration at Oakwood University in the United States before quitting.

Before that, the musician claimed he left his father’s opulent home to work in a recording studio because he was resolved to face his obstacles, in this case, his father’s displeasure.

‘‘We had a 60 million dollar house in Nigeria that I ran away from; I was sleeping in my friend’s studio, hot. My guys were telling me to be going home,’’ He said.

He claimed that his father drove him four hours away from his house so that he could concentrate on his studies and give up music, but despite this, he ran away twice.

The singer The Unavailable, who lost his mother when he was a little child, believed that despite his father’s affection for him, he was being overprotective since he likely promised his mother to always look after him.

“My dad saw a billboard of me, and his security told him that your son has the hottest song in the club right now, and he came to the show I headlined and arrested the fans, me, my friends, and even my promoter. After that, I was on a roll, switching locations like a real-life fugitive, switching hotels, and switching sim cards.
“No one wanted to book me because of this. It happened more than once, and the third time I said I was gone, I scaled the fence, ran, and remembered I was not wearing shoes. They called me and said they arrested all my friends, and then I said I don’t want to make music again, and they released them.

Davido revealed to the program’s hosts that his father urged him to continue his education. He would attend school for 30 days, receive three days off, and then his father would construct him a studio and provide funding for his career.

“I recorded this one song, and it blew up. One day, my guy called me to say he was at the club last night, and people were q my song. This was like the first time anybody would celebrate me.”

“So, I left school. School is like four hours away. My dad put me four hours away from the city. I went to the club, and after the DJ played my song, they all went crazy. I started getting some little gigs from there. My father found out that I left school. This was the second time I had been running away.”

“I had this big show once, and he sent the police. They arrested the promoter, and anybody backstage, whether you were a fan or even people in the crowd. He was doing that for a couple of gigs. Then I dropped another song, and it was bigger. It was even like the president of the country’s ringtone. Over time, he decided to let me be.