Afrobeats superstar David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, and Nigerian rapper Erhiga Agarivbie, better known as Erigga, have engaged in a heated exchange on social media over the issue of family wealth and success in the music industry.
The controversy began after Erigga took to X to celebrate musicians who built their careers without financial backing from wealthy families.
The rapper wrote: “Shoutout to all the musicians who don’t come from family money and had to grind for every single dollar they earn.”
Although Erigga did not mention any artiste by name, the post appeared to catch Davido’s attention.
Responding to the post, Davido defended musicians who come from wealthy families but still work hard to establish themselves.
He wrote: “No be we say make your pops no guard o. Shoutout to the ones that came from family money and still grind to the top.”
Davido subsequently described Erigga’s post as “useless motivation” and called the rapper an “imbecile.”
The exchange escalated as both musicians continued to trade remarks, drawing significant attention from fans and other social media users.
Erigga later questioned why Davido appeared to feel targeted by the original post, insisting that his message was directed at musicians who had made it without family wealth.
In another response, Erigga wrote that he was simply celebrating those who “get it out the mud without family money.”
The dispute has since triggered a wider debate among fans over privilege, family wealth and hard work in the Nigerian music industry.
While some social media users argued that Erigga’s original post was harmless and did not mention Davido, others interpreted it as an indirect reference to the singer, whose wealthy family background has frequently been discussed in relation to his music career.
Davido, meanwhile, appeared to push back against the idea that coming from money automatically takes away from an artiste’s hard work and achievements.
The singer also suggested during the exchange that he could eventually leave music to focus on making billions, saying he would “soon leave” music for others and concentrate on his financial ambitions.
The back-and-forth has continued to generate reactions online, with fans divided over whether Davido overreacted to Erigga’s original post or whether the rapper’s comment was indeed a subtle criticism of artistes from wealthy backgrounds.
