Music and Cultural Exchange: Exploring Davido’s Contributions to Borderless Music

Abstract

This article explores the music of Davido, a Nigerian Afrobeats artist, through the lens of borderless music and cultural exchange. The concept of borderless music reflects how sound, identity, and audience engagement transcend physical and cultural boundaries. The study explores the way the sound, visual aesthetics, and collaborations of Davido, all combine to reflect a deliberate fusion of local and global influences that help in the creation of a musical identity that transcends cultural boundaries without erasing its Nigerian roots. Being a qualitative endeavour, the study employs a purposive sampling technique to select six Davido's songs - “Fall,” “If,” “Assurance,” “Blow My Mind,” “Fem,” and “Holy Ground”. These songs serve as case studies for understanding how borderless music functions in practice. It analyses lyrical content, sonic structure, and digital platform performance to trace how Davido navigates global music circuits. The findings reveal that Davido's success stems not only from musical innovation but also from strategic positioning within a transnational music economy shaped by digital access and audience-driven visibility. Generally, the paper argues that the music of Davido exemplifies how contemporary African artists are actively reshaping global music narratives by participating in the production of music that is both culturally grounded and globally accessible.

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