[CELEBRITIES] Why my dad bought me out of my first record deal

While the average Nigerian superstar often shares a grass-to-grace story, Davido stands out as an outlier, frequently reflecting on how his family’s wealth was both a hurdle and a stepping stone in his remarkable career.

In a recent revelation, OBO as fondly called by his fans, has given new details of how his billionaire dad, Adedeji Adeleke bought him out of his first professional contract.

Davido recalled that he signed a deal with Black Diamond in 2011 but his dad bought him out of the deal after he played the first cut of his smash hit ‘Dami Duro’ video for the concerned father.

He explained that his dad, who had previously opposed his music career, bought him out of the contract to ensure he owned 100% of his masters.

Davido disclosed this while corroborating the tweet made by his former label boss, Tosin Ashafa where he shared how he gave the singer his first deal and how his father reacted to it.

Tosin joined a trending topic on X where a user asked users for their ‘Most random music fact’. He quoted the tweet saying:

I signed @davido to his 1st Offical contract under black diamond promotions with Cecil Hammond/another silent partner, we hired @GodwinTom to manage him. Dr Adeleke realized David was really serious with pushing his music without him, reached out to us and bought us out.

Reposting the tweet, Davido wrote,

No I signed the contract in 2011 … was a good contract not bad ! But daddy wanted me to have 100 percent of whatever I was doing ! Especially after I played him first cut of Dami duro video in his office ! He knew it was game time!!!

Davido went on to give credit to his former label boss for believing in him at a time where all odds were stacked against him.

In a follow up tweet, he wrote,

So much respect to you guys for allowing me walk!! Just know U were part of something that turned out to be phenomenal!!After his father bought him out of the deal with Black Diamond, Davido and his family founded HKN Gang. He later left HKN Gang to establish his own record label, Davido Music Worldwide (DMW).