Nigerian Afrobeats superstar Davido has opened up on how his passion for music outweighed the luxury and privilege he grew up with, revealing that fame and wealth were never enough to distract him from his true calling.
Speaking in a recent interview, the Grammy-nominated artist reflected on his early life surrounded by affluence but insisted that none of it shifted his focus away from music.
According to him, his upbringing was filled with comfort and privilege, from expensive cars to constant vacations and designer luxury items, but even with all of that, his mind was firmly set on building a music career.
He said:
“Just that, that’s what drew me closer to music. I just became very obsessed with music, crazy about it. Like, I wasn’t thinking about anything else.
“Like, I don’t care how many billions my dad had, I was living in a house of like, I grew up in a 20-bedroom, 16 to 20-bedroom house.
“You know what I’m saying? Like, cars, everything, it’s always been there. We’ve been going on vacation every year.
My mom used to have all the Birkins, all the Chanel bags. I’ve seen all that since I was a kid, but I just wanted to do music. That’s what God called me for, he said.”
Davido also revealed that his passion for music once pushed him to take a bold step against his father’s wishes, as he left home for nearly a year after being advised to focus more on education.
“I ran away, I wouldn’t say, I left home for almost a year without any money, nothing,” he disclosed.
During that period, he stayed with a friend in a modest one-bedroom apartment—far from the lifestyle he was used to growing up. Despite the drastic change, he remained committed to his dream, repeatedly insisting that music was all he wanted to pursue.
His story adds another layer to his journey, showing how determination and conviction helped shape one of Afrobeats’ biggest global stars.