## Davido gives throwback Nigerian music fresh life as fans join online trend

One Davido shout-out was enough to get Nigerians digging into the archives again.

The Afrobeats superstar's appreciation for veteran highlife singer Bright Chimezie and his classic song “Because of English” helped introduce the decades-old record to a fresh generation of listeners, with fans and content creators sharing videos, dance clips and memories online.

Davido revealed that Chimezie's 1984 classic provided inspiration for “With You,” his hit collaboration with Omah Lay.

That acknowledgement brought renewed attention to the veteran musician and his catalogue, proving once again that an old Nigerian song can suddenly find a completely new audience in the social media era.

How fans joined the Davido trend

After Davido publicly acknowledged Chimezie's influence, the veteran singer responded with appreciation and shared a video featuring his distinctive dance moves.

The moment quickly became bigger than an exchange between two musicians.

Social media users began recreating the dance and sharing their own videos, while younger listeners who may not have experienced Chimezie's music during its original run discovered “Because of English” decades after its release.

The renewed attention eventually stretched beyond social media, with an acoustic version of the song also released as interest in the veteran musician grew.

For longtime Nigerian music fans, the trend offered nostalgia. For younger listeners, it became an introduction to an important part of Nigerian highlife history.

Why throwback songs keep returning

The latest Nigerian music challenge follows a familiar pattern.

TikTok, Instagram Reels and other short-form platforms have made it possible for songs released years, or even decades, ago to suddenly compete for attention with new releases.

Nigeria has already seen several examples.

Davido's own 2015 hit “Dodo” enjoyed an unexpected resurgence after creators built a TikTok dance challenge around the song years after its original release.

Veteran musician Mike Ejeagha experienced an even bigger revival when his decades-old “Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche” became the soundtrack to the viral “Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo” challenge. The trend introduced his work to millions of younger social media users.

Pulse has previously documented how several old Nigerian records have found second lives through TikTok trends, showing how nostalgia and short-form videos can push forgotten or less familiar songs back into popular culture.

That is why throwback songs remain perfect material for social media challenges. Older listeners recognise them immediately, while younger creators can turn them into something new through dances, memes, fashion videos and comedy clips.

For artists such as Davido, publicly showing love to the music that came before them can also send listeners searching for the original records.

And sometimes, all an old hit needs to start another journey is one famous fan pressing play.