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Why my dad bought me out of my first record deal – Davido
In a recent revelation, the artist, Davido, shared details about how his billionaire dad, Adedeji Adeleke, bought him out of his first professional record deal.
While many Nigerian superstars often share a classic grass-to-grass narrative, Davido stands out as an exception, frequently acknowledging how his family’s wealth was both a challenge and a catalyst for his incredible career.
Davido recalled signing a deal with Black Diamond in 2011, but after showing his father the first cut of the “Dami Duro” music video, his father intervened.
Having initially opposed Davido’s music aspirations, his father changed course, ensuring the singer owned 100% of his masters by purchasing him out of the deal.
This story came to light as Davido confirmed a tweet by his former label boss, Tosin Ashafa, who shared insights into Davido’s first deal and his father’s reaction. Tosin joined a trending conversation on X (formerly Twitter) about random music facts, revealing:
“I signed @davido to his 1st official contract under Black Diamond Promotions with Cecil Hammond/another silent partner. We hired @GodwinTom to manage him. Dr. Adeleke realized David was serious about music, reached out to us, and bought us out.”
Davido reposted the tweet, adding:
“No, I signed the contract in 2011 … it was a good contract, not bad! But daddy wanted me to have 100% of whatever I was doing! Especially after I played him the first cut of *Dami Duro* video in his office! He knew it was game time!!!”
He also expressed gratitude to Tosin and the team for their support during his early career. In a follow-up tweet, he wrote:
“So much respect to you guys for allowing me to walk!! Just know you were part of something that turned out to be phenomenal!!”
After his father secured his release from the Black Diamond deal, Davido and his family launched HKN Gang. He later left HKN Gang to establish his own record label, Davido Music Worldwide (DMW), cementing his place as one of the most influential artists in Nigerian music.