If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it – Runtown and Davido seem to have made this their mantra of late. After holding the number 1 and 2 spot on the charts for most of 2017, the two gifted singers seem to have individually figured out a strategy to remain there for the rest of the year – it’s called to recreate what is already great.

Runtown recently released the scorching hot song “For Life”, which was a essentially a continuation of “Mad Over You” but with a little more soul, while Davido too now has “Fall”, a song that contains elements not only from “If”, his last smash hit, but also from at least 4 other very popular songs.

Watch the video for “Fall” below:

Can’t pick the songs out? Let me help you, let’s take a look at all 4 songs Davido could have drawn inspiration from for his latest, potential hit.

“If” Davido

After the major label flop that was the Son Of Mercy EP, Davido made the right noise about going back to basics, even making it the tittle of his upcoming nationwide tour. As far as the music goes though, what basics seems to be for Davido, for now anyway, is groovy, mid-tempo party jams that also double as brash and boastful love songs. Whereas Sony Music was unable to force-feed the Nigerian public a love song as sweet and polished as “How Long”, Davido has found our mumu button with his brand of rich thug lovin’ and is pretty much just caressing it at this point.

No big name features, Davido is on his own. No big, complicated production, the beat is minimalistic. No big English either, Nigerians fully understand what the wealthy singer means when he says tati billion for the account. “Fall” follows the same formula, producer Kiddominant even mimicked the 2-count drum pattern that demarcates each chorus bar and adds suspense to both records, while Davido couldn’t have found simpler objects than a banana and a football star as euphemisms for things almost all lovers already experience.

“Dun Talkin'” Kojo Funds

At least with “If” and “Fall” Davido was biting his own style, or at least the style he borrowed from Tekno who penned the “If” record. That said, if all we could hear on this new song were the sounds of OBO and Slim Daddy, then there would be no problems at all. The exam invigilator isn’t going to punish you for copying from your own answer booklet, it’s when you stretch to see what your seatmate is doing that you might get in trouble – it sounds like Davido has done some stretching. The second part of the chorus for “Fall” has the same melody, cadence and very similar lyrics to UK artist Kojo Funds’ “Dun Talkin'”(2016), listen below:

Kojo Funds:
Ye me dun talkin’
Ye me dogs them gone barkin’, yea

Davido:
Are you done talking?
Tell me baby, are you done talking?

No idea if this was done with permission or even done intentionally but we now know that Kojo Funds has taken note.

“Port Harcourt Son” Duncan Mighty

Davido was actually gracious enough to confess that Duncan ‘Wene’ Mighty inspired “If”and hinted at a remix featuring the singer. I say gracious because stylistically, it was not immediately apparent what parts of Duncan’s rhythmic sounds from the South-South inspired OBO but if you listen closely, on the refrain of “If”, just like with Duncan several years ago, a certain Obianuju seems to be the object of Davido’s affection.

Davido seems to have drawn from the same fountain of inspiration on “Fall” by raiding another popular song in Duncan’s catalog. Listen to “Portharcourt Son” below and spot the similarities when both  singers offer apologies to those they’ve wronged.

Duncan Mighty:
If I do you wrong before, sorry eh
I no dey perfect oh
If I do you wrong before, sorry eh
I no dey perfect oh

Davido:
If I offend e you – if I offend e you,
Biko sorry, o baby take heart oh
Sorry o, baby abeg e take heart oh

And that’s not even all, just like he did by taking a couple of iconic lines from Lagbaja’s “Gra Gra” and implanting them on”If”,  Davido also ransacked Big Pun’s catalog to lift the evergreen retort ‘I don’t wanna be a playa no more’ to form part of his own player-gone-good story almost 20 years after.

“Fall” is like a mashup, like eating rice and beans, then adding moin-moin and couscous on top. So if the song ever comes up on your playlist or in the club or on the radio, and you feel like you’re hearing 3 or 4 songs in 1, you’re ears are not deceiving you.