Will Afrobeats be bigger if Davido, Wizkid, and Burna Boy all collaborate?
In a recent interview on the Afropolitan Podcast, Co-managing partner of entertainment company The Plug and Davido’s manager, Asa Asika, shared that Afrobeats could be bigger than it currently is if all of Wizkid, Davido, and Burna Boy collaborate.
He made this claim while appearing on the Afropolitan Podcast, where he emphasized that a mistake this generation of superstars has made is not collaborating enough to scale Afrobeats as a bigger culture.
He pointed out the global success of Latino music, which he attributes to the collaborations between stars like J Balvin and Bad Bunny, who are the genre’s leading stars.
“For example, Latin music is very popular due to the collaboration of artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Nicky Jam. That’s a mistake we made”.
He added that a collaboration between Davido and Wizkid would not only expand the genre but also advance commercial success.
“If Davido, Wizkid, and everybody at that point were all collaborating. The probability of our genre being bigger and more successful, even little things like ticket value at shows being stronger, would be a thing. Social media creates a lot of problems.”
While Asa Asika’s thoughts echo the desires of many fans who would love to see the big stars collaborate, some still wonder if it would indeed deliver the expected high returns for Afrobeats.
Will Afrobeats be bigger if Davido, Wizkid, and Burna Boy all collaborate?
There’s simply no reason to believe otherwise. Between all three stars, collectively referred to as The Big 3, they have tens of millions of fans globally.
Combining their talents and resources will not only deliver era-defining hit records but also create a massive moment that will propel Nigerian music commercially.
A collaborative effort between them would most likely set new streaming records in Nigeria, and a joint tour would shatter all ticket sales records in the industry. These feats would advance the music and create an example that will motivate future stars to combine resources in advancing the movement.
What Is Stopping Them From Collaborating?
The competition between all three stars is well-documented. While they have all maintained some level of friendship at different points, the competition for commercial supremacy has both caused division and equally inspired their unprecedented dominance.
Davido and Wizkid’s decade-long feud has helped both stars push themselves to deliver their best and also build huge fan bases that have propelled them to superstardom.
Burna Boy’s well-publicised feud with Davido and his complicated relationship with the Nigerian music industry have equally fueled his hunger and historic global success.
Perhaps for these artists, the benefit of this competition appears to outweigh the desire for collaboration. And while a selfless combination of talent and resources would do the industry a lot of good, there is no sufficient willingness or motivation on the part of the artists.
Despite their feud, the stars have sometimes played down the feud and occasionally left the door open for partnerships. In a 2024 interview, Davido played down the beef and left the doors open for a possible collaboration with Wizkid and Burna Boy.
Wizkid also shared in a 2024 post that he intends to embark on tour with Davido, although their relationship has deteriorated since then.
With their competition, bad blood, and huge individual success, there’s little chance that these stars would put aside their differences. However, if they can, it would do Nigerian music a lot of good.
