Davido review – Nigerian pop superstar feels the love

O2 Academy Brixton, London
After a string of hits in 2017, fans are giddy throughout the crossover star’s biggest London date, despite a momentum-stalling interval

After a grand, pyrotechnic-filled entrance, Nigerian superstar Davido walks down from his band’s raised platform as if he’s descending a Regency staircase, and bounces back the giddy energy in the sold-out Brixton Academy: “This is so emotional!” Few gigs described as landmark occasions actually live up to the billing, but the Afrobeats singer’s biggest London date might justify it.

When Davido signed to Sony/RCA in 2016 and proclaimed he was “the first African artist to sign a global record deal”, some pointed out that wasn’t quite true, but a string of epic singles in 2017 – and collaborations with American stars Tinashe, Young Thug and Rae Sremmurd – seem to be building to a serious international crossover. Having seven years’ worth of hits in the bank by the age of 25 is certainly a strong start.

After the powerful entrance, Davido moves up another gear with the cheerfully poppy 2013 single Gobe, which has the 5,000-strong crowd booming the words for him in one of those “Do I really need to be here?” moments. While the peaks are glorious, the show has a slightly peculiar pace. There’s a half-hour break in the middle, when support act Mayorkun performs four tracks and the DJ plays UK funky club classics (to a hugely enthusiastic reception), making Davido’s return weirdly anticlimactic.

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But a tempo switch to hip-hop for Fans Mi, his 2015 single with US rapper Meek Mill, restores the room’s energy, ramped up further by skittish dancefloor anthem Skelewu and heroic love song, Aye. The second half offers guest spots and surprises: he brings out Wizkid, his nemesis and rival until two months ago, but now his “best friend”, as well as Mr Eazi and London rapper Not3s. Three of his 2017 megahits close the show on a high note: the blissful lovesick singalongs Fall (with its nod to Kojo Funds’ Dun Talkin) and If, finally closing with the heartfelt heroics of recent single FIA. It’s emotional, indeed.