“Division Right Now Would Make Us Weaker” – Davido Finally Addresses The Wizkid Rivalry
In a new cover interview with The FADER, tied to his latest album Oriadé, Davido got candid about where his head is at almost two decades into his career. Asked to reflect on his 2016 comment that there was only room for one African artist to truly win, the now 33-year-old superstar admitted the game has changed completely.
He acknowledged he’s still competing at 33, but said his focus has shifted purely to making good music, regardless of who he’s making it with, adding that division at this point in the culture would only weaken everyone. It’s a strikingly different tone from the artist who, just a decade ago, saw the Afrobeats scene as a zero-sum game.
The interviewer didn’t let him off easy either, pointing to that very 2016 quote where Davido had said there was enough for everyone to eat, but that it could still feel like only one person would win. A decade and a wave of global Afrobeats success from stars like Wizkid, Burna Boy, Rema, Tems and Ayra Starr later, Davido’s outlook has clearly softened into something closer to gratitude than competition.
Why Wizkid’s Name Matters Here
Davido and Wizkid’s rivalry isn’t new gist, it’s practically a subplot of Afrobeats history at this point. From cryptic tweets about sound systems in 2016, to diss-laced verses on Olamide’s “Summer Body” in 2017, to public spats where both camps traded jabs about career relevance, “OBO vs Starboy” has fueled fan wars (Team Davido vs Team Wizkid) for the better part of a decade.
There have also been genuine attempts at peace over the years reports of the two burying the hatchet after things reportedly got physical back in 2018, and Davido previously admitting he tried multiple times to link up with Wizkid on a collaboration that never quite happened. So when Davido now says publicly that division would only make “us” weaker, longtime fans immediately read it as a nod toward Wizkid specifically, even though he kept his words diplomatically general.
The Bigger Picture: Davido’s Legacy Era
This interview lands at an interesting point in Davido’s career. With Oriadé out, described as a love-letter to the culture and his own journey, Davido is positioning himself less as a combatant chasing a crown and more as an elder statesman of the genre someone who helped build the runway that stars like Wizkid, Burna Boy, Tyla and Rema are now flying on internationally.
Wahala Network Take
Whether this counts as an official Davido-Wizkid truce statement or just Davido being reflective about the culture at large, one thing is clear: the “only one person can win” era of Afrobeats talk is officially retired, at least from Davido’s side. Question is, will Wizkid respond, or will the fans keep the rivalry alive on his behalf like they always do?
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