Wizkid, Davido, other celebrity beefs that shaped 2024

2024 was indeed an eventful year in the entertainment industry with some celebs involved in ‘beefs’ (fights) with one another. TOLULOPE FASUAN takes a look at the significant ones

VDM vs Iyabo Ojo/Paulo

Controversial social media activist, Vincent Otse, aka Very Dark Man; and actress, Iyabo Ojo, have been at each other’s jugulars since the death of singer, Mohbad, in September 2023.

However, the beef became even fiercer in 2024 when VDM alleged that Iyabo Ojo and some other celebrities (such as Nkechi Blessing and Papaya Ex) attended Davido’s wedding without getting invitation cards. In a video he posted after the event, VDM claimed that Ojo was only invited for the after party, which only allowed her entrance into the venue by 5pm after the main wedding had ended.

Reacting to the allegation, Ojo lambasted the online critic for bearing false news, and even went ahead to post her invitation card to refute his allegations.

She also stated that VDM’s mother did not do a good job raising him.

Standing by his lover, music executive, Paul O, lashed out at VDM for disrespecting his woman, noting that she was old enough to be his mother. He wrote on social media page, “Pray for this guy! Person wey swear for this guy don die. It is a pity he has to live in this condition for the rest of his miserable life.

“You came for a wedding to check which invite someone has? Is that not sickness? I believe you see Iyabo in your dreams every night and day. If you say you love your mum, I believe your mum and Iyabo may be in same age (sic)! Respect that.”

Paul O also added that other celebrities would have to choose between between being friends with him or VDM.

Burna Boy vs Eedris Abdulkareem

Grammy Award-winning singer, Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy; and veteran rapper, Eedris Abdulkareem, also had a disagreement in the course of the year.

This started when Abdulkareem stated that he paved the way for afrobeats, and that the present generation of singers were enjoying the privilege.

While appearing as a guest on popular podcast— The Honest Bunch— Eedris recalled how he allegedly fought for Nigerian artistes in 2004 by standing up to American rapper, 50 Cent, and his crew, who were in Nigeria for a show at the time. He claimed that the fight was why most afrobeats artistes were now recognised and respected globally.

He also voiced his displeasure at Burna Boy for claiming that nobody helped him in Nigeria, describing it as a “stupid talk”. He said, “You heard someone like Burna Boy say nobody helped him in Nigeria. Would he have been a star without some people starting the revolution? That is a stupid talk. You wouldn’t have been where you are if we didn’t make this industry what it is; if we didn’t fight for it. Unfortunately, most of them don’t appreciate it. And I don’t give a damn.”

Unsurprisingly, that comment did not sit well with Burna Boy, who then took to his X page to express his anger. He wrote, “Abdul Kareem abi wetin dem dey call your papa; I no blame you. I blame people wey donate money for your hospital bills. And I wish say you be person wey fit dey enter the kind places wey I dey, make we use mistake jam.”

Wizkid vs Davido

It is no longer news that two of the biggest afrobeats artistes— Davido and Wizkid— have been having fights for some years.

This year, they continued their beef, even though many thought they had buried the hatchet.

A fan of Wizkid had asked him to release his anticipated album titled ‘Morayo’, to which the singer responded with a viral video of Davido on his knees begging a certain lady.

Responding, Davido called him a “sick man”, and inferred that his songs were not as popular as they used to be. In the course of his rants on social media, Wizkid also described popular music producer, Don Jazzy, as a social media influencer dancing on TikTok.

Though many reasons were adduced for the latest fight, some industry insiders believed that it was connected to a deal with Puma that Davido recently signed. Wizkid had been on the payroll of the company before, but when it was time to renew his contract, he had requested for higher deals, which the company allegedly turned down and chose to reach out to Davido.

Kizz Daniel vs Tekno

Afrobeats stars— Daniel Anidugbe, aka Kizz Daniel; and Miles Kelechi; aka Tekno, traded words on social media earlier in the year. This was said to have been triggered by disagreements they had over the sharing of royalties accruing from the hit song, ‘Buga’, on which Daniel featured Tekno.

According to reports, it all started when a blog claimed that Kizz Daniel shared the royalties of the song on a 50-50 basis with Tekno, alleging that the latter got nearly a billion naira from Daniel.

In response to this, Tekno came out to clear the air, stating that he never collected such amount of money from Daniel. He wrote on X, “Him money no reach. Anybody wey put out that fake interview, thunder fire your mama…#Talkingshit.”

This apparently didn’t go down well with Kizz Daniel, as he responded, “Dem mention money, you sef dey talk… spewing s**t like anus. See ekuke way we rescue with BUGA!! Oloribu omo ale.”

Tekno also fired back that he would expose all of Kizz Daniel secrets if he did not tread carefully.

Bnxn vs Dremo

DMW member, Aborimoh Raymond, aka Dremo; and Daniel Benson, popularly known as Bnxn, also had a spat in the course of the year.

It all started when a fan stated that Bnxn was using the 30BG brand to chase clout. The fan wrote, “Werey your pen game no fit sell out 2500 capacity…you wan use 30BG trend.”

In response, Bnxn wrote, “No go stream Dremo dem.”

Dremo, who was having none of it, then tweeted, “You see sey I dey my own before bowling pin mention my name. I no dey find wahala but if wahala come, no wahala.”

Prior to that, Bnxn was believed to have thrown a shade at Davido. A Davido fan had stated that Bnxn knew nothing about music. In response to this, Bnxn replied, “You be retard. Knowing your fave, you no suppose dey speak on anything regarding music. Fem!”

Shortly after that, Davido unfollowed him, and allegedly did not release a song they had made together.

Tiwa Savage vs Davido

Popular singers— Tiwa Savage and David Adeleke (Davido)— were some of the first entertainers to get into fights in 2024.

Previously on good terms, the duo caught the attention of many when they unfollowed each other on Instagram. Prior to that, Savage had posted a video of her and Davido’s baby mama, Sophia Momodu, on her Instagram page. This did not go well with Davido as he reportedly sent numerous messages to her manager, saying that she was taunting him. In her response, she said she was just with Sophia in times of trouble, just like she had been with Davido when his son, Ifeanyi, died in 2022. Davido was also said to have sent mutual friends to her, telling her to be careful in Lagos.

Seeing this as a threat to her life, Tiwa wrote a petition to the police against Davido. She stated that if anything happened to her or her family, Davido should be held responsible.

Bobrisky vs VDM/Portable

 Though not a stranger to controversies, this year was arguably the toughest for cross dresser, Idris Okuneye, aka Bobrisky.

His woes stated when he was given the ‘Best Dressed Female’ dress at the premiere of a movie by Eniola Ajao titled, ‘Beast of Two Worlds’.

However, this did not go down well with a lot of celebrities, especially the female attendees, who felt it was a slight to them. Actress, Dayo Amusa, was one of the most vocal about her misgivings.

Shortly after, while engaging in meet and greet at a cinema in Lagos, Bobrisky was seen spraying naira notes to some of his fans.

However, he was later arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for defacing the naira and money laundering, though the latter charge was later struck out.

Bobrisky was eventually sentenced to six months imprisonment; and after his release, some of his associates threw a party to celebrate.

But, that was not the end of the drama. Social media activist, Very Dark Man, later alleged that Bobrisky did not actually stay in prison, but was instead kept in an apartment for the duration of his sentence. He played some voice notes which purportedly had Bobrisky himself claiming that he was not in prison, but living in an apartment close to the facility. He also alleged that some EFCC officials collected a bribe of N15m to strike out the money laundering charge.

The revelation caused an uproar across the country as the government ordered investigations to get to the root of the matter.

Meanwhile, in the recording, the voice thought to belong to Bobrisky claimed that rapper, Falz and his father, Femi Falana (SAN), were trying to help him get a presidential pardon.

The cross dresser eventually travelled out of the country, though he was arrested by the Nigeria Immigration Service and EFCC on his first two attempts to leave Nigeria.