Davido, the popular Afrobeats singer whose real name is David Adeleke, has shared how his father, Chief Adedeji, attempted to halt his music career in its early stages by sending police to arrest him.
According to the ‘OBO’ hitmaker, his father was initially opposed to his musical pursuits and urged him to focus on his education.
In an interview with the Ebro in the Morning Show on Hot 97FM, New York, which was later shared on Youtube by the station on Friday, Davido recounted how his dad repeatedly dispatched officers to detain him and disrupt his scheduled performances.
“He sent police to get me… like he sees a billboard; for example, ‘Davido performing, Wizkid performing’. He would send police to arrest everybody – the show promoter if you’re there (you would be arrested),” he told the FM station as he and the show presenters laughed about it.
When asked why his dad was doing that, Davido said, “So, I gotta go back to school.”
“He kept on doing it. Then there was one time. This is where I knew that ‘Oh I’m lit!’. They (the police) came and got me. Then I’m in the cell and the dude that got the keys his phone rings, and it’s my song! I said ‘that’s me’. He said ‘you’re Davido?’. I said ‘yes!’. And he let me go.”
He said after then he dropped a record that became big in Africa. “The president was playing it,” he boasted.
When the singer was asked when his dad stopped getting him arrested, Davido said, “I finished school. But I had to do like a part-time stuff.”
He noted that his father didn’t hate music, he wanted him to be serious with his education.
“Not that he hated music, he just wanted me to go to school. And I feel like, he wants that whatever I’m gonna do, I have to be successful,” he added.
He said his father now called him to ask what next, adding that his dad was proud of him, and he was his number one fan.
“He’s calling, asking me what next. He’s like over-asking questions,” he added.
