Dave

Dave Artistfacts

  • June 5, 1998
  • Dave Omoregie was born in the Brixton area of South London to Frank, a pastor, and Juliet, a nurse. When Dave was just a few months old, the authorities deported his father to his country of origin, Nigeria, for having the wrong visa. They allowed Juliet to stay, and she raised Dave and two older sons, Christopher and Ben, in nearby Streatham.
  • He started writing lyrics at 11 after watching his older brothers' practice rapping at home.
  • In 2012, Christopher was sent to prison for 18 years after being convicted of being involved in the killing of 15-year-old schoolboy Sofyen Belamouadden at Victoria Station. A few years later, Ben also got locked up for conspiracy to defraud. Dave's mother reacted by not letting her youngest son out after school.
  • Dave started taking music seriously aged 14 after his mum bought him a digital keyboard. "I'd finish school and play non-stop until I went to bed," he told NME. "I learned by listening to movie themes like The Dark Knight and complex video game soundtracks."
  • Dave's first gig in March 2016 – a support slot for Kano at London's Troxy - didn't go well. "It was the first time I'd rapped to a crowd and I instantly lost my voice," he remembered. "The only notes that would come out were these super high-pitched ones. It wasn't the easiest."
  • Dave's breakthrough came when Drake jumped on a remix of his track "Wanna Know" and premiered it in October 2016 on OVO Sound Radio.
  • Dave and producer Fraser T Smith have twice won Best Contemporary Song at the Ivor Novello Awards: In 2018 for "Question Time," and 2020 for "Black."
  • His album Psychodrama won the 2019 Mercury Prize and Album of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards.
  • Dave made his acting debut in 2019 in the third season of Netflix's Top Boy. He played the role of Modie, the drug-dealing gang leader.
  • Dave loves anime – among his favorites are utopian sci-fi Aria and supernatural manga Bleach.

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