The attack by Afrobeats star, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, on rapper Erigga has sparked a conversation about the role of family wealth in people’s careers, especially in the entertainment world.
Erigga had on Wednesday acknowledged and celebrated the efforts of artistes who built their careers without family wealth.
Erigga wrote on X, “Shoutout to all the musicians who don’t come from family money and have to grind for every single dollar they earn.”
Quoting the post on his handle, Davido, who comes from a wealthy family background, tackled Erigga while defending artistes born into wealth.
While mocking Erigga’s family background, Davido wrote in Pidgin English, “No be we say make your pops no guard o. Shout out to the ones that came from family money and still grind to the top. Comot here with that your useless motivation. Imbecile”.
There were diverse reactions based on the ‘Omo baba olowo’s post. While some accused him of berating the rapper since he didn’t mention Davido’s name, others rose in support of Davido, hinting that Erigga threw the shade at the top musician.
A music historian, Issac Daniel, noted that family wealth only impacts a person if he has the talent to support the push.
He noted that history is replete with musicians from low backgrounds who made wealth from nothing but hard work and talent.
”Family wealth can only provide the platform for the musician or creative who has the passion and vision to make something out of their life. We have more musicians and creatives who came from low backgrounds and built wealth. Sometimes having nothing to fall on gives you a push to do all you need to succeed.”
He noted that the likes of Davido and Naeto C have used family wealth to push their careers, as their careers can only go as far as their talent and grace take them.
Young artiste Shalom Terem, with the stage name Shamzydane, who just released the Afrobeat single ‘Alone ‘, weighed in on the matter and noted that family wealth cannot take the artistes beyond their talent and how far they can push themselves.
Davido, who comes from a wealthy background, made waves and became famous with the single ‘Dami Duro’ from late 2011 to 2012. He was not signed to any record label, and it was reported that huge funds were used to promote the song on radio stations. He kept at it and got good record producers to churn out good music.
Ayodeji Balogun, known as Wizkid, signed to Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E) in 2009 and got his breakthrough song “Holla At Your Boy” in 2010. The record label made sure the song got into the airwaves and the right space. This helped him to build his career, and with his debut album ‘Super Star’ released in 2011, there was no stopping him. Wizkid, born in Surulere, came from an average home and has done well for himself, becoming one of the greatest music exports from Nigeria and Africa.
Damini Ogulu, known as Burna Boy, had a slow and steady musical trajectory, having made his music breakthrough song ‘Like To Party’ in 2012 and his debut album ‘L.I.F.E’ released in 2013. Burna Boy, who was self-styled and from an average home, did not have a robust record label to push him forward but surged on to release songs that resonate with the people.
While 2012 marked his local Nigerian breakthrough, he later achieved a massive global and international breakthrough in 2018 with his third studio album, Outside, and the smash hit “Ye” by rejigging his team and getting international producers that helped him get the much-needed Grammy.
Therefore, family wealth does not play a major role if the artiste is not ready to drive and pay the price with a dint of grace or luck.
