Napji calls out Davido over unpaid royalties

Napji who produced three songs off Davido’s third album ‘A Better Time’ including the smash hit song ‘FEM’ is voicing out over unpaid royalties and publishing.

In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account on April 22, 2024, Napji states that he was paid 500,000 Naira each for producing ‘FEM’, ‘Jowo’, and ‘Sunlight’ off Davido’s 2020 album ‘A Better Time’.

Napji who was credited as a producer on all three songs shared that he was yet to get his royalties and publishing while promising to share more information as he seeks to collect his royalties and publishing.

“I am Napji, producer behind Fem, Jowo and sunlight on @davido album (A better time).Which was released 13th November 2020. I was paid an advance of 500 thousand naira for each of the songs. I will be releasing more information as I seek to collect my royalties & publishing,” the tweet reads.

Napji calls out Davido over unpaid royalties Pulse Nigeria

‘FEM’ is one of the lead singles on the album with the song becoming a smash hit and one of the anthems of the famous 2020 #ENDSARS nationwide protest.

The single has garnered over 33 million streams on YouTube and nearly 10 million streams on Spotify.

’Jowo’ also enjoyed commercial success with over 53 million views on YouTube and 26 million Spotify streams.

According to industry practice, Napji is entitled to a 50% publishing right on the song which means he gets to earn a part of the streaming royalties the song has accrued over the years.

Over the years, there has been different cases of music producers having their publishing rights held. Recently, Dr. Roy who produced several hit records including ‘Excess Love’ for Mercy Chinwo claimed that he’s yet to get his royalties from EezeeTee of Easy Concepts who used to distribute for the gospel singer.

Davido has reacted to Napji's claim of the unpaid royalties owed to him. The Grammy-nominated superstar replied to Napji's post on X with "Ur Papa".

While Davido's tweet doesn't provide any clarity as to Napji's claim, it's expected that more light will be shed on the issue when Napji shares the information he promised to release as he seeks to claim his royalties and publishing.