Nigerian Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has hit back at rapper Erigga after the latter praised musicians who built their careers without financial backing from wealthy families.
The exchange, which took place on X, has sparked debate about privilege, hard work and the different paths Nigerian musicians have taken to build successful careers.
Erigga, whose real name is Erhiga Agarivbie, began the conversation with a post praising musicians who did not come from wealthy backgrounds and had to work for every dollar they earned.
“Shoutout to all the musicians who don’t come from family money and had to grind for every single dollar they earn.”
Although Erigga did not mention any artiste by name, Davido appeared to take issue with the sentiment and responded directly.
“Shoutout to the ones that came from family money and still grind to the top.”
The exchange later became more heated, with Davido dismissing Erigga’s message as “useless motivation” and calling the rapper an “imbecile” in another response. Davido subsequently suggested that he could eventually walk away from music and concentrate on his other financial interests.
“No worry o I go soon leave their music for una go make my billions… then that shit gonna be boring AF.”
His remarks have triggered mixed reactions online, with some users arguing that Erigga’s original post was simply a celebration of musicians who succeeded without financial privilege.
Others have defended Davido’s position that coming from a wealthy family does not necessarily mean an artiste did not work hard to establish a successful career.
Erigga, who is from Warri, Delta State, has built his career around street-oriented storytelling and Pidgin rap and is widely associated with narratives about hardship and resilience.
Davido, meanwhile, was born into a wealthy family as the son of businessman Adedeji Adeleke. He launched his professional music career in the early 2010s and went on to become one of Africa’s most internationally recognised Afrobeats artistes.
The latest exchange comes weeks after Davido spoke about his long-term plans for his music career.
In an August interview, the 33-year-old artiste said he did not intend to remain in the spotlight into his 40s while competing for attention with younger musicians. He said he could take an extended break from recording and still return to touring because of the strength of his existing catalogue.