-
Davido shares his ideas about African culture.
Superstar Davido has unveiled his ambitious vision for African culture, expressing his desire to establish a lasting legacy with the A.W.A.Y. festival in Atlanta.
The renowned DMW boss has been enjoying a stellar 2023, marked by the record-breaking success of his fourth album ‘Timeless’ and the international acclaim for his hit single ‘Unavailable,’ featuring Musa Keys.
In an illuminating interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Davido shared insights into the Are We African Yet? (A.W.A.Y.) festival. The megastar articulated his goal of creating a festival that transcends time, reaching various corners of the globe to showcase and celebrate African culture.
Davido envisions the A.W.A.Y. festival as a platform for African artists to not only perform but also connect with their fan base on an international scale.
Additionally, he sees the festival as a powerful means to globally spotlight African culture, allowing the continent to take control of its narrative on the global stage.
This ambitious venture reflects Davido’s commitment to elevating and promoting African music and culture worldwide.
“So years ago it was the other way around where it’s like the same way we have people coming to Africa, which we love, investing, bringing their own culture over there. Having festivals, in the same way, we should do the same over here. And that’s why I’m having this festival that’s going to be coming every year-
I want to give [different artists] the opportunity to come every year, different times to come and perform. Because they have fans here and they don’t know. Because internet, all you have to do is just drop a song out on TikTok and it’s gone. Somebody a billion miles away, it could be their best song and you wouldn’t even know.
I feel like we have to own our culture too. We can’t wait for somebody to bring the idea and be like, “Yo, Afrobeats is growing.” Let’s go register for African Coachella or something like that. I’m like, “No, we got to do this ourselves because this is ours. So we got to own it.” Down the line if somebody wants to partner…
But the vision I have, I’m talking 10 years, 20 years down the line. The vision I have is to create it to be something that is for the culture, not particularly mine. I might be behind it, producing it, All of that. But it’s something I’m doing for the culture, which Atlanta definitely is going to have the first couple, but we’ve spoken about definitely moving it around because we are everywhere. So definitely I can see maybe LA. I can see Toronto, definitely. So we’re definitely going to move it around.”
Davido’s three Grammy Award nominations for 2024 are indicative of his successful 2023. The A.W.A.Y. festival’s inaugural event is scheduled for November 18, 2023, at Atlanta, Georgia’s State Farm Arena.