The Davido-Wizkid Bromance

 The Davido-Wizkid Bromance. 

Greatness is attained after one has broken through adversities, adversities must be faced and conquered to have the taste of luxuriance associated with greatness. 

I take a look into the celebrity duo of David Adeleke Davido and Ayo Balogun Wizkid, two Nigerian darlings who have inspired reverence, love, rivalry and bromance. 

Who sings better? Who has more money? These arguments have always gone on and on.. Wizkid fans believe that the money was what helped push Davido into the limelight, how true is that? We'll also find out why Davido fans believe in his music. 

These two are undeniably legends having gone through different experiences that strengthened their resolve as against diminishing it and catapulted themselves to the top of the game through relentless drive, vision and ambition. 

How it all started? 

Davido was born in 1992 into a wealthy home, the last of five children, material conveniences was not a problem. 

As is typical of nigerian parents, Davido's father with the best intentions at heart of his children sent them all to well-equipped schools so they could have a solid start to life. This is how the drill went - go to school, finish well and come work in the family company. 

At 11, the first psychological setback hit, Davido's mother died, no amount of money could replace the gap it created in his big heart, coincidentally at this young age when he was mourning, a promising boy somewhere in a ghetto city in Lagos state discovered his passion for music. Little did this 13-year old kid know that he would end up being at the centre of a publicized rivalry in years to come. 

Davido discovered his passion for music in school when he ran into Jamaicans who lit the fire of talent within him, he consistently freestyled alongside his jamaican friends and was so good he decided he was going to take things to a bigger level. But how a baby of the house would face a titan in person of his father and tell him he wasn't so much interested in school but in music would turn out to be a terrifying move - things weren't going to be rosy and they weren't. 

Wizkid born in 1990 was brought up in the ghetto - Ojuelegba in Surulere to be precise with just enough material possessions to get by, he faced all the typical nigerian challenges - hustling was the streets anthem, you had to hustle your way through to get everything, Wizkid maintained a steely resolve. His hunger to have a much more improved way of life led him to believing in opportunities that could get him his desires,the opportunities that appeared as stepping stones to a better life were religion and education.

In Nigeria, the easiest path to move up the social strata was by going to school, finishing well and getting a fantastic job that remunerated you with enough to attain to one's most desired standard of living, the other option was to be fortunate enough to have spiritual and mystic powers endowed upon one, giving him the ability to help people who compensated back in kind.

Only recently did the intelligent use of the internet present a third way for people to move from lower standards of living to higher standards of living. 

Wizkid started singing in the church in the days of humble beginnings, he waxed strong, it was inevitable that a musical breakthrough would come, his fame grew and established nigerian artistes spotted his talents. Oluwa answered his call and he got signed to a reputable record label and from that point there was no turning back.

His little belief in the nigerian educational system to move him from where his current position to his most preferred position made him ditch that path and focus on his passion and love, music. 

The Up-Rising. 

Davido started his music career amidst dissatisfactions from his father who didn't see a future in music for his beloved son. In the early days he was in Lagos for a show and his father had his promoters arrested and threatened that he was going to have them jailed if Davido didn't come around. 

Davido went to the police station to bail his promoters, on getting to the station, the phone of the DPO-in-charge rung and the ring tone happened to be a newly sung hit from him, the excited Davido then shouted in his trademark voice 'na my song be that' - apparently, Nigerians allover  loved the song to the extent of personalizing it as ringtones but majority were not aware of the artiste who had sung it. That thrilled the officer in charge and he subsequently released the promoters. 

Davido's Father wanted his passionate son to at least finish school with something concrete and enrolled him in a private institution, Davido after being assured by his acquaintances who schooled in that  institution that he could always sneak out to make music agreed to the plan, only to discover on resumption that his room quarters was right next to the vice-chancellor's quarters - he dealt with such an inconvenient arrangement for months. A man separated from his passion is like a fish separated from water. 

Wizkid on the other hand had no parents on his neck pushing him to have an education so as to continue in the family business,his stake in education was basically to further his own interests but he had to successfully tackle the Nigerian reality. 

The Nigerian reality is one in which to make things happen and succeed, one must work and pray for grace, juxtapose this with the reality of the developed worlds who already have favorable systems on ground, although with majority of the work falling on individuals to get ahead in the Nigeria the advantage that lie therein is the freedom to play by one's own rules. 

Nigeria is a tough place to grow in, material challenges abound, the schools one depend upon to get ahead are not so well-equipped, the ghetto in which Wizkid grew up was one in which more-than-average effort had to be extended to get ahead since there are numerous contradicting influences as is characterised by ghetto areas.

Hustling, roaming the streets, prayers are the hallmarks of impoverished areas, if government's help can't be accessed, one must then help himself. Wizkid wasn't any different and went through it all, even resulting into the use of marijuana, tobacco and recreational drugs as typical of ghetto residents to stem the tides of harshness that that kind of life offered, these substances apparently keep him in cool shape as it has continually been a part of him even on attainment of stardom, the same can be said for Davido. 

Wizkid's story is a typical example of the grass to grace story, his is more or less a self-made career. His dreams and vision to become a global superstar never dimmed in spite of daunting challenges, little wonder many youths from similar backgrounds look up to him in awe and admiration. He won against the tides of life. 

Support? 

Money answers to all material things, it plays a big role. 

Davido's privileged upbringing gave him a good shield against adversities that beset many, he was entitled to a sound education, had whatever money could buy, all this contributed to the person he had become when he decided to set out on his own path.

 At some point, he was at odds with his father and had to depend on doughs he made from his own gigs - this glaringly exemplifies his independent spirit. His initial support did not always agree with him, he had to branch out to do things his own way, create momentum before things eventually panned out fine for him. His father according to him now is his biggest fan and assuredly the $ 700 million Forbes-estimate of his father's networth ain't any different. 

Wizkid's support was family, friends and himself, the never-give-up mentality he imbibed and the hard lessons the ghetto taught him was smartly utilized by him on his way to the top, his supportive friends utilized online platforms to promote his beautiful music and he made good hits. The ability to work with people is vital to a successful career in life and for someone coming from the low leagues in lagos state where bad blood flows easily to maintain his head, keep cool and stay focused is noteworthy - his passion ruled him and he did what needed to be done. His foray into the global stage fueled his drive more and led him to create his own record label which boasts of top-class acts. 

Rivalry? 

The way life works is astonishing, who would have thought at the onset of the 21st century that in a few years to come, Nigeria would have two superstars in play who would go on to have sold-out concerts in the reputable 02 London arena? 

Growing up, Davido and Wizkid looked up to the music stars in their early years for inspiration not knowing they would go even higher than their mentors- very interesting. 

The inevitable rivalries and battle of wills started with the continual release of hit songs by these superstars and the fans soon joined using both offline and online social media platforms to debate, argue and counter-argue on whose music was most preferable. 

Davido worked hard despite the superfluity of privileges life has endowed on him, staying comfortable would have been an easy option, instead he chose to fully optimize his talents. Money and social connections in themselves hold little value if one can not intelligently utilize them to a profitable end - Davido has proven over and over again that he can use the advantages he has to his personal good ends. You could call him a winner. Many who believe wealth has always made it all rosy for him  should take into consideration that having one's father using the abundance of his power to fight a balky son was as much a hard pill as having nothing but Davido persisted and believed in his own definitive power to win. A true fighter he is! His voice which has been a source of controversy is well suited to his personality and style of music. 

Wizkid has equally worked harder and with some tact too, his ability to maintain relationships with high status music artistes despite his humble upbringing shows his star-ness.. He is a born star! His voice is very sweet and many ladies are  alluringly drawn towards him by virtue of that, his voice is a master gift that has opened doors of all shapes and kinds to him. His background which he dedicated his hit song 'Ojuelegba' to has turned out to be one of the best things to happen to him. 

Davido and Wizkid brings to the fore how it feels to taste global success from the perspective of a moneyed background and that of the bourgeoisie. I personally think Nigerians are fortunate to be the spectating presence to these unlikeliest of matches. 

Experiencing life from different perspectives and appreciating these differences led the two of them to put bad bloods behind them.

The Bromance. 

It is said that in unity, much more can be achieved. 

Wizkid and Davido have realized that a coherence of their energies would further their individual interests on the global stage, inspire and promote upcoming stars alike - this is fantastic. Both have featured in each other's annual concerts and the fans are sure looking forward to a joint project from both of them, apparently they want things to work out naturally so that the best can be produced.

 /make some noise/!

In their private lives, they enjoy the love of women and both have three children. 

For a 30 and 28 yr-old, it won't be a tall order to crown them legends achievement-wise! They are LEGENDS!

Personally, I enjoy both of their gbedu and have a liking for Davido, if you no want am like dat, fem because i dun fall for his fia. 

Tim Adetolu.