Nigerian singer Davido performs at the Carnivore, Kenya. PHOTO | MARYANNE MUMBI
On Friday, March
27, Kenya Airways flight number KQ 533 departed from terminal 1 of
Murtala Muhammed International airport in Lagos, Nigeria destined for
Nairobi, Kenya.
Aboard the business section of the
plane were four passengers of interest to this piece, among them one Mr
David Adeleke better known by his nickname Davido.
The
Nigerian hit maker would arrive at JKIA at 7:35 pm on the same day from
where he headed straight for NTV’s #The Trend for a live interview with
Larry Madowo, ahead of the heavily publicised concert scheduled to take
place the next day.
But as these events were unfolding, a different narrative was trending online in connection with Davido’s visit to the country.
Back
home in Nigeria, fans and haters alike were up in arms regarding his
perceived unpatriotic decision to forego the just concluded presidential
elections in favour of a gig in another country. More resounding,
though, was the wave of sighs and the awe regarding his implicitly
lavish lifestyle as pictures of Davido and his crew aboard their
“private jet” flooded social media timelines and entertainment blogs
across the world.
Posted under the
caption “Kenya in a bit!!”, the image shows an unmarked Range Rover
parked on the airport runway next to a classy jet, sparking a flood of
comments from fans who marvelled at the display of opulence from the
continental mega-star.
The subsequent
posts further stoked the conversation as Davido and his crew were
apparently captured kicking it inside the private jet en route for the
Nairobi show.
“We paid for their full
expenses, which comprised four business class and four economy class
tickets for Davido and his crew, as well as accommodation for the time
we had contractually agreed for them to be here”, explains Ranee Jamal,
founder of Ranee Productions, the event promoters.
However,
according to Jamal, the greatest problem was caused by a Dubai-based
Nigerian intermediaries who brokered the deal between her company and
Davido’s handlers for the concert.
“When
I first approached them concerning the concert, we agreed that I would
pay Davido $45,000 (Sh4.1 million) to do a show in Nairobi while they
would top up the difference to stage a separate concert in Mombasa,”
reveals Ranee.
“However, as the event
drew closer, they informed me that they had been unable to raise the
agreed amount, and that I should foot the full cost of his performance
fee, had suddenly gone up to $60,000 (Sh5.5 million), payable in two
installments.”
Ranee further explains
that she did not get any confirmation of payment from the
intermediaries after making the initial deposit of $35,000 (Sh3.2
million), at which point she started getting suspicious of the two, who
“kept coming up with new reasons to get more money”.
“They
would tell me that if I didn’t add money Davido wouldn’t come. I even
had to pay for extra flights for people that weren’t in the original
agreement because otherwise, according to them, Davido wouldn’t come,”
narrates a visibly irritated Ranee as a pile of documents to support
her case sits before her.
“I don’t even think Davido knew all these things.”
Meanwhile,
upon arrival at JKIA, Davido and his posse headed straight for the now
much-talked-about interview on The Trend where the 22-year-old star is
deemed to have displayed extreme cockiness in an ego-fest that left the
host deflated.
The gang would later
throw a tantrum when one of the managers at the hotel where they were
staying refused to make exceptions and allow their visitors to visit
them in their rooms later that night.
Following
the organisers’ intervention, the hotel incident was eventually
resolved and a jet-lagged Davido, his crew, and visitors later
proceeded to party the night away with a few lucky fans. The following
afternoon, Davido was a no-show at the concert test-run as his decksman,
DJ Neptune, and label mate, Deekay, did the technical run-through on
his behalf.
Mediocre performance
It
was against this backdrop that the Aye singer turned up at the
Carnivore Gardens last Saturday evening, where he proceeded to give what
was arguably the most mediocre performance by a major international act
on Kenyan soil. Between his missing voice, cocky demeanour and the fact
that he performed for less than an hour in what should have been a
two-hour event, it’s easy to see why the mammoth crowd that turned up
for the show felt cheated about getting a raw deal despite paying good
money to attend the concert. A VIP ticket was going for Sh8,000, golden
circle tickets Sh4,000 and arena tickets Sh2,500.
As
it turns out, Davido’s rushed performance was supposedly motivated by
his eagerness to get to the pre-advertised after-party in Westlands,
which, according to Ranee, was not part of the deal. In fact, she only
got to know about this after the hitmaker got his phone and other
valuables nicked at the said club.
“We
never agreed on an after party and any agreements of such a nature
would have needed to go through me as the official concert promoter,”
adds Ranee.
“The intermediaries were
going around booking him for appearances and shows at various clubs
purporting to be his hosts, which was in direct breach of our
agreement.”
The day after the
concert, Davido would later attend a meet-and-greet session at a
different club in Westlands, which was allegedly negotiated for and
arranged behind her back.
“The matter is currently with my lawyer, who is suing the clubs and individuals involved for breach of contract,” reveals Ranee.
“The
turnout for my event was jeopardised by the booker’s actions, and I
will be pursuing every possible recourse, including withholding the
balance — $25,000 (Sh2.3 million) — for their payment until due legal
process is followed.”
Sour relations
As
the dust settles on the anticlimactic incident, it remains to be seen
how Davido and his management will move to rectify his tainted image
locally and internationally amid a growing list of complaints about his
behaviour, delivery and public relations skills, given his status as the
leading artiste on the continent at the moment.
On
the local front, though, this turn of events seems to have irreparably
dented the already sour relations between Kenyan and Nigerian
entertainment industry players and fans, going by the online reactions
recorded. Could this be the closing chapter of Naija’s tight grip on
Kenyan music consumers?
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