Davido Explains Why He Teamed Up with Omah Lay: ‘He Thought I Hated Him’

Story: written by Zara December 17,2025
Afrobeats superstar Davido has revealed the reason behind his collaboration with fellow musician Omah Lay, saying he reached out after the singer publicly expressed doubts about Davido’s feelings toward him.

Last year, Omah Lay admitted that he had assumed Davido “hated” him until the DMW boss played his tracks during a livestream with American streamer Kai Cenat in Lagos.

In a video that has since gone viral, Davido explained that he contacted Omah Lay after seeing his tweet, which ultimately led to their joint work on the song With You.

He recounted, “Kai Cenat came to Nigeria, and I was driving him to the club when Omah Lay’s song came on. He asked, ‘Who is this?’ I told him, ‘Oh! This is Omah Lay, he’s hot.’ The next day, Omah Lay tweeted, ‘Wow! Davido gave me a shoutout on a livestream, I thought he hated me.’ I DMed him saying, ‘Why would you think I hate you? We’ve never even met.’”

Davido continued, “We eventually exchanged numbers and started working on music together. We recorded about four songs, and he picked With You as the one to release.”

With You is one of the standout tracks on Davido’s fifth studio album, 5ive, and has been nominated for Best African Music Performance at the 2026 Grammy Awards.