In a recent livestream, Afrobeats heavyweight Davido opened up about his decision to remove the much-anticipated track “Flex My Soul” from his upcoming album Oriade.
The singer placed full responsibility on his longtime aide, Israel DMW, whose overzealous promotion spoiled the song’s rollout.
Davido revealed that Israel repeatedly previewed and played the song online without permission. Despite being told to stop, Israel continued, including a viral video of himself dancing to the track while wearing a towel or robe.
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“It’s not on Oriade by the way,” Davido stated. “Isreal spoilt my roll out for that song… He said he wouldn’t post it again. E no pass two days, he appeared in the towel video playing it.”
The artist had planned a surprise album release with minimal pre-promotion, aiming for maximum impact. Israel’s actions, however, leaked the song’s energy too early, forcing Davido to pull it to protect the project’s integrity.
Fans have expressed disappointment after hearing teasers, hoping the song would become a major anthem.
Separately, Davido performed a different collaborative version of “Flex My Soul” with Jamaican artist Lila Iké for Billboard and Honda Stage in 2024, but that is not the solo track in question.
Whether “Flex My Soul” will eventually get an official release is unclear, but for Oriade, it is officially off the tracklist.