Davido to Spotlight Next Gen of Afropop as Guest Host for Apple Music’s ‘Africa Now Radio’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Emanuel Okusanya
·2 min read
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Nigerian superstar Davido is set to take over as a guest host on Apple Music’s “Africa Now Radio” on April 7, the platform announced today.

Fresh off a sold-out concert at New York’s Irving Plaza, Davido will take over the radio show to talk about the creative process behind his latest album “Timeless,” and will additionally highlight a long list of his favorite rising artists. These include such acts as Lojay, Victony, and Asake, with the latter being featured on his focus track “No Competition.”

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Davido will further highlight Lojay — whose song “Monalisa” scored a top ten slot on Billboard’s U.S. Afrobeats songs chart — as his Africa Rising artist to watch on Friday’s show. “I’ve chosen Lojay because I feel like he’s very into his craft, he’s diverse, and I love when artists really get into their production,” Davido said of the pick in a statement. “He does everything, he reminds me of myself in the early stages.”

Since his debut in 2010, Davido has been widely considered a pioneer of modern Afropop. “Timeless,” his fourth studio album, was released on March 31 and was quick to make an impact on DSPs. The 17-song album, which features artists including Skepta and Musa Keys among others, broke Apple Music’s record for the most first-day streams for an African album worldwide. It also reached No. 2 on Apple Music’s U.S. Albums chart, setting a new record for an African studio album.

Davido was already a record holder on the streaming service, where he leads with the most simultaneous African song entries (nine) on Apple Music’s Global Daily Top 100. The U.S.-born and Nigeria-raised artist is famous for his crossover hits “Fall,” “If,” and “Assurance,” which have become club favorites and helped propel the popularity of Afropop across the globe.

Tune in to Africa Now Radio with Davido on April 7 at 9 a.m. Lagos/London time and 4 a.m. ET on Apple Music 1.

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