15 hit songs that document Davido's 15 years of dominance in Afrobeats

• Davido marks 15 years in music with a list of 15 defining songs from his debut to present.

• The selection traces his rise from “Back When” to global hits like “Fall” and “Unavailable.”

• The milestone aligns with his 2026 Walk of Fame induction, reinforcing his lasting influence.

Today, May 7, 2026, marks exactly 15 years since David Adedeji Adeleke, better known as Davido, released his debut single Back When featuring Naeto C and announced himself to Nigeria and the world.

Fifteen years later, he is being inducted into Atlanta's Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame alongside Ludacris. The timing is not a coincidence, but a display of years of hardworking and relevance in the Afrobeats scene.

Here are 15 songs that show his trajectory.

Released on May 7, 2011, ‘Back When’ was a statement of intent more than a debut. It introduced a young man with ambition and the means to back it up, serving as the lead single for his first studio album, Omo Baba Olowo.

Released October 30, 2011, ‘Dami Duro’ skipped the typical emerging-artist period and took Davido straight to superstardom. Produced by Shizzi and Davido, it became a cultural phenomenon before his debut album even dropped.

A defiant industry statement produced by GospelOnDeBeatz, ‘All of You’ showed the courage of an artist who knew exactly who he was, even when the world was still figuring him out.

Released August 13, 2013, ‘Skelewu’ was proof of his hold on the music scene and his ability to move culture simultaneously. The song generated over 100,000 fan dance videos on YouTube, a viral marketing phenomenon that was extraordinary for its time.

Released February 1, 2014, ‘Aye’ solidified him as a continental hitmaker. Produced by T-Spize and directed by Clarence Peters, it became one of the defining love songs of its era and won Song of the Year at The Headies 2014.

Released June 9, 2015, this was his clearest statement of international ambition to bridge Nigerian and American hip-hop. The music video hit 1 million YouTube views in 15 days, making it one of the fastest-rising Nigerian music videos at the time.

Released February 17, 2017, ‘IF’ was a comeback and a reset. After a poorly received Sony EP, Davido re-negotiated his contract, returned to local Nigerian talent, and released a ghost-written Tekno production that reminded everyone why he mattered.

Released June 2, 2017, ‘Fall’ became the longest-charting Nigerian pop song in Billboard history and the first Nigerian song to receive RIAA gold certification. The song further opened the global doors for Afrobeats.

Released November 10, 2017, ‘FIA’ was part one of a four-song streak that made 2017 Davido's most dominant year, a comeback single that became one of the defining Nigerian pop songs of its era.

Released November 24, 2017, ‘Like Dat’ closed out a stunning year: four consecutive hits, including ‘IF’, ‘Fall’, ‘FIA’, and ‘Like Dat’, that very few Nigerian artists have matched in a single calendar year since.

Released April 30, 2018, ‘Assurance’ was a public love letter to Chioma Rowland, the woman who would become his wife and the mother of his children. It became a love anthem across Africa and made Chioma a household name overnight.

Released July 26, 2019, this was the beginning of a genuine friendship and creative partnership with one of America's biggest artists. It gave Afrobeats mileage on the global scene and signalled that the genre's biggest stars were now peers with the world's biggest pop acts.

Released September 10, 2020 as a diss aimed at Burna Boy, ‘FEM’ took on an entirely different life when Nigerian youth adopted it as the unofficial anthem of the #EndSARS protests in October 2020. Davido did not plan a protest song, but he made one anyway.

The Amapiano-tinged ‘Unavailable’, featuring South African producer Musa Keys, reached No. 3 on Billboard's U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart and earned Davido his first Grammy nominations: Best African Music Performance, Best Global Music Performance, and Best Global Music Album, confirming his longevity at a moment when many assumed the next generation had passed him by.

Released as the 17th track on his fifth album 5IVE, ‘With You’ almost did not make the tracklist. It surpassed 100 million Spotify streams and earned Davido a fifth Grammy nomination, categorical proof that fifteen years in, he still maintains his position at the top.

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