In a revelation that underscores both the perks of having a billionaire dad and the pitfalls of early fame, Nigerian music superstar Davido has shared how his father, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, swooped in to rescue him from a questionable record deal by refunding a whopping $200,000.
Speaking in a recent interview with BET, the Feel hitmaker recounted the moment his youthful dreams clashed with his father’s business acumen. At just 17 years old and riding high off the success of his breakout single Dami Duro, Davido was offered a seemingly golden opportunity—a $200K record deal. But to his surprise, his father wasn’t impressed.
“My dad found out someone gave me $200K for a contract. He called them, gave them back their money, and cancelled the contract,” Davido said.
While the young artist initially resented the decision, viewing it as his billionaire father withholding financial support, hindsight has changed his perspective.
“I was feeling like, ‘You’re a whole billionaire and you don’t want to give me money?’ So I had to go find my way,” he admitted.
But the move turned out to be a pivotal one.
“Thank God he did [cancel the contract] because I would have just been getting off the contract like two years ago,” Davido added, acknowledging how that one decision may have preserved his creative freedom and long-term career.
In an industry where bad deals can derail even the most promising talents, Davido’s story is a reminder that sometimes the best contracts are the ones that never get signed—especially when Dad has both the foresight and the funds to make it disappear.
So the next time Davido yells “Shekpe!” on stage, it might just be a quiet toast to the man who made sure he stayed in control of his own beat.
