10 years ago, it wasn't cool to tell your friends in America 'I am from Nigeria’ — Davido

Nigerian Afrobeats singer David Adeleke, known professionally as Davido has opened up about facing prejudices earlier in his career and feeling pressure to deny his African roots.

However, he notes that African culture and musics are gaining worldwide appreciation in recent years, contributing to a change.

"10 years ago, it wasn't cool to tell your friends 'I am from Nigeria.' I remember when Africans used to lie that they were from Jamaica.

“Now they're like 'I am going to Madison Square Garden for Davido's concert.' Who is Davido? An African artist. Now people are appreciating us and it's just emotional," said Davido on a podcast.

On her part, Ghanaian actress and social media personality Andrea Owusu, known professionally as Efia Odo, also shared her experience facing racism as a child.

In a post via X on Friday, April 26, Efia Odo, who schooled in America, explained that due to fear of racial taunts from her African-American classmates in junior high school, she would often tell people she was Jamaican, not African.

“When I was in junior high school, my African-American classmates used to tease me for being African. They used to call me names like African booty scratcher so I would lie and say I’m half Jamaican. Sad but true,” wrote Efia Odo.