Davido tops list of most influential African artists in 2015

The recognition comes in a year that has seen the artist win awards, including the Best Male award at the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA). He also received nominations at the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) and the MOBO Awards in the UK.

Davido’s career has been storied since his first single, ‘Back When’ was released in 2011. A collaboration with rapper Naeto C, the song announced the US-born singer. ‘Back When’ led to a few more singles and a debut album OBO. A second album has been delayed several times, with a number of singles released in the interim. Some of these singles, ‘Gobe’, ‘Skelewu’, ‘Aiye’ have enjoyed hit status. Earlier in 2015, Davido scored a hit with US rapper Mick Mill on the song ‘Fans Mi’. The singer then recorded another when he released the song ‘Dodo’.

In the past Davido has a less than rosy relationship with Forbes, notably in 2013 when the publication left him out of a list of bankable African artists. That may have changed since Trace TV broke the news on Twitter on 9 December. “Congrats @iam_Davido,” the music TV station announced, “for making the @forbesafrica list of the most influential African artist of 2015.”

Baddest, Davido’s hotly anticipated second album, is expected in 2016.