David Adedeji Adeleke was born on November 21, 1992, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.[2] His father Adedeji Adeleke (born 1957) is a business magnate from Nigeria, and his mother Vero Adeleke (1963–2003) was a university lecturer.[11][12] Davido is the youngest of five siblings and his father's third-born son.[13][14] He attended the British International School in Lagos, and at the age of 16, he returned to the U.S. to study business administration at Oakwood University.[13][15]

While at Oakwood, Davido bought musical equipment and started making beats.[16] He also formed the music act KB International with his cousins B-Red and Sina Rambo.[15] Davido dropped out of Oakwood University to pursue music full-time and relocated to London, where he worked on his vocals.[16] After returning to Nigeria in 2011, Davido paused his music career and agreed to honor his father by enrolling at Babcock University, from which he graduated in July 2015, with a degree in music after his father paid the university to start a music department for an inaugural class of one student.[16][17]