“Five is freedom, unbound by borders/Rising by lifting others/The artist, the father; the man walking two worlds.” These words, written and performed by Nigerian poet Alhanislam, not only form part of the overture to Davido’s fifth studio album, but also offer insight into the mind and methodology of an artist who’s been at the forefront of African music for over a decade. Davido frames 2025’s 5ive as something of a victory lap, not just for his own pursuits, but for the entire contemporary African soundscape. “This is definitely about celebrating the longevity and how far we’ve come,” he tells Apple Music. “It’s been a long, long journey. Afrobeats is in an amazing place. Everybody’s doing well, all the way from South Africa to Ghana to Nigeria. For us to have risen and taken this culture and the music to such heights—we have our own categories at the Grammys, at the Billboard Awards; we have our own festivals selling out more than the festivals in America. It’s crazy. Because of the nature of the whole genre, everybody’s messing with the culture. So every album is to push Afrobeats further.” Here, he’s as intentional as ever about eliminating gaps between cultures and sounds altogether, employing even more of the sonic fusions that permeated his 2023 album Timeless. The distinctive log drum of South Africa’s amapiano again features heavily here, along with fusions incorporating Caribbean and Latin styles—woven together with the red thread of Afrobeats and clever nods to African classics. “I love bringing different worlds to mine,” Davido explains, and he does so here through collaborations with Victoria Monét, Shenseea, Tayc, and Dadju; recurring guest stars Chris Brown, Musa Keys, and producers Shizzi, Marvey Muzique, and DJ Maphorisa; rising Jamaican star 450; and homegrown Nigerian heroes like ODUMODUBLVCK, Omah Lay, and Chike. Here, he talks through key tracks from 5ive. “Anything” “This is a song you play before you run the Olympics. That’s a song you play before you get on a soccer pitch, the finals, Champions League. That’s a song you play before you do a final exam as a lawyer—it’s an inspirational song just to motivate you to action. Apart from inspirational stuff that we’re talking about on the record, it also kind of solidifies my longevity in the game and how long I’ve been here and how long I’ve still been able to do it. I’ve seen artists come and go and I’m still able to be here.” “Be There Still” “Shout-out to [co-producer] DJ Maphorisa; shout-out to South Africa; shout-out to my boy [co-producer] Marvey Muzique. I’ve always had a strong place in my heart for South Africa, because apart from Nigeria, South Africa was one of the countries to accept my music and push me, put money in my pocket, book me. ‘Be There Still’ is definitely about my longevity in the game, how long we’ve been here. Anywhere the money is going to be, anywhere success is going to be, I’m going to be there. Anywhere you see good things, anywhere you’re looking for n***as at the top, you’re going to see me.” “Offa Me” (feat. Victoria Monét) “If you ask me, it’s going to be one of the biggest records on the album. Victoria Monét—I met her at the 2024 Grammys, and she won three awards that night. She was on fire. And I feel like this record is the perfect matchup of what she does and what I do.” “R&B” (feat. Shenseea & 450) “I love the Caribbean, and I’ve done a lot of shows there. ‘R&B’ is produced by my boy Jonn P. I know people know Shenseea, but a lot of people back home might not have heard of 450. But he’s the new guy. He’s the new hot guy going crazy; he’s amazing. I’m excited to show him to Africa and to the world and just mix our worlds together.” “Awuke” (with YG Marley) “Shout-out to Jamaica, YG Marley. Like I said, I love bringing the two worlds together. What I loved about that record was the process, the making of the song and the making of the video. YG came to Nigeria for the first time; [it was his] first time being in Africa, him and his uncles, and I think his brother. I love when these artists come to my home and I show them, like, ‘Yo, this place is not that bad.’ You know what I’m saying? It’s kind of lit. And every time they come, they end up not even wanting to leave.” “Holy Water” (feat. Victony & Musa Keys) “Me and Musa Keys together [on 2023’s ‘UNAVAILABLE’]—we probably have the biggest songs of our career. For me, apart from collaborating with these people, they’re actually family. Musa ended up laying some ideas on the beat, and then me and Victony finished up the song. They’re just two strong, hardworking individuals that are going crazy right now. There’s nothing wrong in learning stuff from the newer generation. Look how Drake has done it. Even DJ Maphorisa, he’s still tapping in with the new producers. So I’ve never had a problem, and that’s probably why I’ve lasted so long, because a lot of people have a problem with tapping in. Just because I’ve done stadiums around the world, it doesn’t mean I don’t have a listening ear or don’t mean I still can’t learn. So I’m always open, and I never feel too big, because the music is bigger than all of us. What we’re trying to attain is bigger than all of us.” “Nuttin Dey” “This is a typical Nigerian record—it’s like my version of ‘Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright’ [Bob Marley’s 1977 hit “Three Little Birds”]. When we say ‘nuttin dey’ in my country, it means ‘no problem.’ It’s like, ‘We’re good; everything is chill, everything is nice.’ So that’s the vibe of that record. And shout-out to Selebobo, an OG music producer from Nigeria that hasn’t been active in a while, and I met up with him in America. And then we got back in the studio and did that.” “Titanium” (feat. Chris Brown) “You know what’s crazy? Chris Brown has been on my last four albums. That’s my brother. When you do music with your brothers, with your family that you both care about, nah, it’s always going to work. Just that moment with me and him in South Africa performing to the biggest crowds of our careers [in 2024]…it’s crazy. “Lately” “You know when you sing depressing songs, but the songs are so good you have to dance? It’s really talking about a lot of things I was going through—a lot of smiling through sadness—and it was really talking about, ‘God, please save me. I have to be strong for everybody.’ And I’ve been in those type of situations where I’m not really strong mentally at that point, but then I have to act like everything is okay, for everybody else to be okay. It’s really a depressing record that bangs heavy.” “Funds” (feat. ODUMODUBLVCK & Chike) “I remember when they first played me the sample [of Brenda Fassie’s 1997 hit ‘Vuli Ndlela’] and I was like, ‘How we’re going to flip this?’ I’m not really a big fan of sampling music, but sampling Brenda Fassie is legendary. It was just amazing to see how we could just bring two worlds together. I’m Yoruba, and then Chike is Igbo, and then you bring in Brenda Fassie’s [South African] spice into that too—nah, I always knew it was going to go.” “With You” (feat. Omah Lay) “I remember when Kai Cenat came to Nigeria [in 2024], he was on a livestream, and then I took him out in my car. And when he was in the car, he was like, ‘Oh, what song is this?’ And it was Omah Lay’s song playing. I think the next day Omah Lay tweeted, ‘Wow, I thought Davido hated me.’ I’m like, ‘Hated you? Why would you think I hate you? I love your music. What you talking about?’ He was like, ‘Oh,’ he didn’t know. So I was like, ‘Yo, we got to get in studio.’ I don’t put no ego before my music. And I know this one is top three for me. So shout-out to Omah Lay. I feel like that’s going to be a big record for us.”