Nigeria’s music stars Davido and Tiwa Savage will headline the closing concert of Giants of Africa Festival at the BK arena in Kigali, on Saturday, August 19. The duo, regarded as the best in the Afrobeats genre, will be joined by Rwanda’s Bruce Melodie and vocalist Tyla from South Africa, at the sold-out concert. Davido or OBO as many call him, will be performing in Kigali for the third time while it will be Tiwa Savage’s first time staging in the country. The Saturday concert stays at the center of almost every conversation among the music lovers in Rwanda, with many waiting to witness a lifetime experience of two giants on the same stage, and others digging down to know more about the musicians. Wondering where Davido and Tiwa Savage stand among Africa’s greatest musicians, The New Times' got you covered. Born to billionaire Adedeji Adeleke, Davido’s music journey took a turn in 2011 when he released “Dami Duro”, the second single from his debut studio album “Omo Baba Olowo”. By 2016, Davido had already produced dozens of bangers like Gobe, One of a Kind, Skelewu, Aye, Tchelete (Goodlife), Naughty, Owo Ni Koko, The Sound and The Money among many others. A few months after taking over the Afrobeats scene, Davido won Best African Act and was one of the Best Worldwide Act recipients at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards. In February 2018, Davido sold out the O2 Brixton Academy venue, performing some of his all-time hit tracks like ‘If’ which was certified diamond by the Recording Industry of South Africa, indicating shipments of 200,000 units, and won Best Pop Single and Song of the Year at The Headies 2018. He was also the first African artiste to sell out O2 Arena in London. The Nigerian star is also known for collecting millions from online streaming platforms, with his latest album ‘Timeless’ at the top of the list after it earned 254 million Naira within less than a year from different music platforms. Davido is also a business tycoon who spent five years as the co-owner of the HKN record label, after which he started his own known as Davido Music Worldwide (DMW). The Nigerian is said to earn up to $50,000 per performance in Nigeria and over $100,000 per international appearance. After a prolonged hiatus following the death of his son, he released Timeless in 2023, one of the best-performing albums in modern Nigerian history. One of his biggest live performances was at the World Cup closing ceremony in Qatar where he was paid close to one million dollars. He is the sixth richest musician in Africa with a net worth of over $30 million. In 2020, New African magazine designated him one of the 100 most influential Africans. According to Hopper, each of Davido's Instagram posts is estimated to be worth $131,000, ranking him 61st among the Instagram-richest celebrities worldwide Just like Davido, Tiwa Savage rose to stardom after dropping “Kele Kele”, one of the 21- tracks on the 'Once Upon a Time’ album that introduced her unique sound to the world. The debut album not only marked the beginning of her successful career but also showcased her exceptional talent, paving the way for her ascent to becoming one of Africa’s most influential artistes. She is arguably one of the richest female artistes in Nigeria, occupying number 14 in the list of top 20 richest musicians in Nigeria. Tiwa Savage became the first lady to sign with Mavins record of Don Jazzy which raised top Nigerian musicians like Rema, Koredo Bello, Ayra Star, and many others. The Mavins first female artiste signed big deals in the past like brand ambassador for telecom giants MTN worth over N30 million and e-commerce brand KONGA worth N20million. She’s presently an ambassador for Pepsi after signing N30 million with them, while her deals with Forte Oil, Pampers, and Maggi Cubes run into millions of Naira. Tiwa Savage is also rumored to earn $100,000 per gig, with a Net worth estimated at $10 million.
