43DAVIDO
28 •Amplifying Afrobeats
BY LAYCON
Davido is one of the biggest voices in Afrobeats because his music connects
with people, often in ways that transcend his expectations. When he
released the song “FEM” in 2020, a title that loosely translates to “shut up”
in Yoruba, he didn’t know it would become a major #EndSARS protest
anthem, as youth banded together to demand the government take action to
end police brutality in Nigeria last October. Officials responded by sending
politicians to give speeches. We told the government to keep quiet unless
they had something sensible to add—the ethos of “FEM” was directly
relatable to that moment.
You can tell Davido puts 100% into every song he makes. And the
results are clear: his album A Good Time surpassed a billion streams in
- Afrobeats is a worldwide phenomenon, and Davido is one of the
many artists from Nigeria who has made that possible; now more and more
artists, from Nicki Minaj to Young Thug, want to work with him.
By bringing Afrobeats to the global stage, he’s paved the way for people
like me.
Laycon is a musical artist from Nigeria
TrevorLawrence21 • Top prospectAfter finishing his career at
Clemson as one of the most
celebrated quarterbacks in
the history of college football,
Trevor Lawrence is being
mentioned by pundits in the
same breath as players like John
Elway and Peyton Manning—
once-in-a-generation prospects
who altered the NFL. Lawrence,
whose distinctive long locks
were a familiar sight on TV
screens on fall Saturdays these
past three seasons, has also
stepped up off the field, creating
a COVID-19 relief fund with his
fiancée, Marissa Mowry, to
assist families in his hometown
of Cartersville, Ga., and upstate
South Carolina. He also helped
organize an on-campus protest
against police brutality in June.
On April 29, the Jacksonville
Jaguars are expected to take
Lawrence with the first overall
pick in the NFL Draft. “Whoever
decides to draft me, they’re
going to get all of me,” says
Lawrence. “The expectations I
set for myself will be higher than
anybody else’s. And just know
that college was just a glimpse
of what I plan to do.”
—Sean GregoryBENNETT: ROZETTE RAGO FOR TIME; MCLAUGHLIN: ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIS FRANKLIN FOR TIME; DAVIDO: STEPHEN TAYO—THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX; LAWRENCE: CHRIS GRAYTHEN—GETTY IMAGES