Davido is the biggest music artiste in Nigeria. His recent music release “With You” featuring Omay Lay is an artistry success. Amidst acceptance, Davido recently hinted about quitting music. This revelation has generated speculations online and here’s what you need to know.
David Adeleke whose stage name is Davido is one of the pioneers of Afrobeats in Nigeria. He has been making artistry releases since 2014 and won many music awards to his credit. The singer hinted about his retirement from music in a recent interview.
He is referred to as ‘Greatest Of All Time’ and arguably the biggest Afrobeats export in Africa. With his interesting portfolio could he possibly walk away when the ovation is loud? Will he wait for the ovation to become loudest? Probably Davido hinting at retirement meant evolving into another role in music!!!
Davido is 32 years old, yet to reach the climax of his career and obviously at the center. Walking away at this time might affect his relevance in the Nigerian music industry.
Davido’ Artistry Success In 2025
Davido made history as the No 1 Afrobeats artist on the Billboard World Album Chart in 2025.
His music collaboration “With You” featuring Omah Lay, topped Spotify’ chart of ‘most streamed Nigerian song of 2025’.
‘All Africa Music Awards’ (AFRIMA) has nominated “With You” for Song of the Year category.
US Billboard announced “With You” as topping Afrobeats chart.
In September 2025, Davido surpassed 10 billion audio on-demand streams globally across all his credits.
The ovation is obviously loud but Davido is not yet at the peak of his career. When he ranks with the likes of Beyonce, it would be fair to say that Davido is at his peak.
Legal Effect of Quitting Music
Let’s take a sneak peek into the legal effect walking away would have on Davido’ music career.
Davido started making music in 2014 and has a very attractive portfolio. He founded his record label, Davido Music Worldwide (DMW) in 2020. He has signed fast-rising artists like Boi Chase, Logos Olori, Moravey and others to his record label.
The Nigerian singer is signed to Sony Music Entertainment, this means he is subscribed to lots of contracts. For instance he is subscribed to album deals, Non-disclosure Agreements (NDA), exclusivity clauses and many more. Davido walking away from music won’t only mean quitting, it would mean breach of contracts and obviously breach of trusts.
Even though the billionaire singer has made a name with less controversies for himself, music is a unique career. It involves intellectual property rights like ownership, royalties, publishing rights among others. If in reality Davido quits music, his relevance would decline and might revert his position as a frontier artist.
Economic Effects of Davido Quitting Music
The name DAVIDO is now more than a household name, it is a walking brand that has grown beyond music to embrace ambassadorship.
Big brands like Martell, Pepsi, 1xBet, Puma, Infinix, Munch iT, GAC Motors, Stake, Wema Bank and others have signed Davido as an ambassador. All these perks are associated with his fame as a successful musician.
Reality or a Joke
It’s no longer news that entertainers, especially musicians, use quitting as a publicity stunt. This is a way to renew their stance in the entertainment industry. For instance as a result of Davido’ hint about retirement, there may be renegotiation of contracts from brands he has worked with.
Also there might be upscaled terms from fresh ambassadorial deals which might be proposed by brands who wants to work with. So hinting about quitting music could be a joke which in low tones might be a publicity stunt.
Or let’s analyze it from another angle. Davido could decide to retire and become a Music Executive like Don Jazzy and Olamide? This means he isn’t retiring in the real sense of it but stepping up as a Music Boss.
With all stakes put up here, Davido’ hint at quitting music might either be a reality – switching roles to become a Music Executive. Or a joke – publicity stunt. Since Davido is yet to come out clear about his decision let’s keep observing.