Afrobeats King, Davido never disappointed in the least.
In fact, even diehard WizKid fans would admit. That Davido definitely did the damn thing at St. Lucia Jazz Festival. Davido straight up shocked an awed us (all who were seeing Davido perform live for the first time).
Being shocked an awed was entirely inescapable as Davido promptly broke performer’s tradition by singing his biggest hit first. A brazen and brave display of the depths of Davido’s self belief and the rock solid trust that Davido has in his catalogue. In truth, one of the things that sets Davido apart from almost every other artist out there is his intimate knowledge of his own music.
In retrospect, Davido’s set sounded like a top tier Afrobeats DJ was playing to save the life Afrobeats itself. At no point was there a lag, a lull, a missed cue, a misstep, a blunder.
Instead Davido, went from hit to hit, mesmerizing with unending melody. Displaying the width of his musical deck of cards, whilst engaging us the crowd in a game of musical chairs that perpetually kept things new.
One moment we would get RnB Davido, then it would be Dancehall Davido. Another time Amapiano. One of the sweetest treats of it all is that for once, it would be hard to say that there was a Davido hit that was left unsung.
What A Difference A Day Makes.
Real Afrobeats fans will remember that it was relatively recently when Davido seemed out for the count.
All talk of Afrobeats having a big three had stopped and worse still. Davido was battling with having to deal with the loss of his son Ifeanyi.
As Sylvester Stallone famously said whilst in character as Rocky Balboa, it ain’t about how hard you can hit but how hard you can get hit and keep moving. Davido being back on top in Afrobeats is a testament to Davido being that guy who hit super hard by life and somehow found the wherewithal to get back up off the canvas and keep moving.
One thing that all creatives of a certain ilk come to know is that life fuels art more often than not. It is for this reason it comes as no surprise that perserverance, being irreverant towards the naysayers, being unstoppable are some of the main themes of Davido’s new album 5ive.
(For a full song by song review of this album, click here.)
Davido performed like he understood the platform he was on. That St. Lucia Jazz festival, is the preeminent Jazz Festival in the Caribbean.
It Was Personal For Davido
However, King Davido sent an even more specific, more impassioned message. That he Davido, was fit to wear the very crown of Afrobeats. David held nothing back, showing that music truly is his passion and life purpose.
Simply put, this music thing is very personal to Davido. As David himself sings in his song Anything, by the age of 17 David had already begun making it as a musical artist. That music was the 30BG Boss’ life committment showed clear as day as David performed on stage at St. Lucia Jazz Festival.
His performance was a music treat fit for any person of the highest station. What particularly made processions fun is the fact that Afrobeats is a happy music.
Local Soca artist Teddyson John has referred to St. Lucia as the Land Of Whine. That Afrobeats, like Soca is a “happy music genre” is a big reason why Davido was so well received in St. Lucia. Furthermore, the popularity of Afrobeats in the Caribbean definitely helped, but more than this, is the ties between Africa and the Caribbean having never been severed, that is highly relevant too.
In sports, it is often said that the teams that wants it (victory) the most wins. The level of desire displayed by David was truly outstanding as Davido literally gave his all. From opening to closing moment.
When all was said and done, WizKid notwithstanding, if Davido considers himself to be Afrobeats number one – it is highly understandable. After all, at this point the discussion on Afrobeats big three is highly subjective and even time sensitive. As WizKid has now been dealing with the loss of his mother.
When all is said and done, the primary trait of a True King is his ability to benefit his people. David did this all night long. His attention to detail, in areas that could be categorized as more than music, simply shone through.
As we’ve mentioned before, a fundamental part of singing, is singing with emotion. David’s emotion was audible, visible and palpable – to say the least. Can you guess what happens when an artist performs like that? People get in their feelings as they follow the lead of an Afrobeats King.
Also notable, were the dancers that David selected to perform with him on stage. The dancers embodied the music, capturing the vibes and making sure that Afrobeats reigned on St. Lucia’s Jazz Festival stage.
That performance is the type you never forget. The type that earns respect. If you missed it, you missed out but….thankfully we do have plenty of clips for folks to see Davido’s performance for themselves. Also, hopefully this article helps put folks on notice.
If you get the chance to see Davido perform, take it. Take that chance without contemplating doing otherwise. Even for a moment.
