‘I Collaborated With Omah Lay Because He Thought I Hated Him’ — Davido
Afrobeats heavyweight Davido has opened up on the real reason behind his collaboration with fellow Nigerian star Omah Lay, explaining that the partnership was sparked by a moment of honesty from the “Soso” crooner about how he once perceived him.
It will be recalled that Omah Lay had previously admitted that he believed Davido disliked him, an assumption that lingered until the DMW boss played his music during a high-profile livestream with American streamer Kai Cenat in Lagos. The moment quickly went viral and altered the narrative between both artistes.
In a widely circulated video obtained by PulseNets, Davido disclosed that he decided to personally reach out to Omah Lay after seeing a post where the singer expressed surprise over the unexpected public endorsement.
According to Davido, the connection began casually while hosting Kai Cenat in Nigeria. He explained that during a drive to a nightclub, one of Omah Lay’s songs came on, prompting curiosity from the popular streamer.
“Kai Cenat was in Nigeria, and as I was driving him to the club, Omah Lay’s song started playing. He asked me who the artiste was,” Davido said.
“I told him, ‘That’s Omah Lay, he’s on fire right now.’”
Davido added that the following day, Omah Lay took to social media to express shock over the shoutout, admitting that he never expected such recognition from him.
“The next thing I saw was Omah Lay tweeting something like, ‘Davido played my song on a livestream, I honestly thought he didn’t like me,’” he recounted.
“So I sent him a DM and asked, ‘Why would you think I hate you when we’ve never even met?’”
The Afrobeats star told PulseNets that the conversation quickly evolved into a creative exchange, with both artistes finding common ground musically.
“We exchanged contacts and started sending music to each other,” Davido explained.
“We ended up recording about four songs together, and ‘With You’ was the one he felt strongest about for release.”
The track, With You, has since emerged as one of the standout records on Davido’s fifth studio album, 5ive, further cementing the chemistry between both musicians.
Also Read: 2026 Grammys: Davido, Omah Lay, Ayra Starr, and Wizkid Land Nominations
PulseNets learnt that the collaboration has also received international recognition, as With You has been nominated in the Best African Music Performance category at the 2026 Grammy Awards, marking another major milestone for both artistes on the global stage.
