Wizkid, whose birth name is Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter born on 16th July, 1990. Born in Ojuelegba, he began recording songs at 11 years old and entered the limelight with his single, Holla at Your Boy. Holla at Your Boy was nominated for Best Single Pop and won The Next Rated Award at The Headies in 2011 & a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. Its music video was nominated for Most Gifted Newcomer Video at the 2011 Channel O Music Video Awards. Owner of the Starboy Label, he started his musical career in 2001 under R&B, Afrobeat, reggae, and Afropop, having observed and worked with many other Nigerian singers like Banky W, 2Face Idibia, etc. One of his mentors was Naeto C, who coached him from when he was 15. After dropping out of Lagos State University in 2009, he completed two sessions at Lead University before calling an end to his academics.
However, his musical talent gained even more traction between 2010 and 2011. In 2012, he toured London performing his E.M.E.’s compilation, for which he collaborated with Femi Kuti, Phyno, Tyga, Banky W, etc. In 2013, he performed at the Guinness Colourful World of More concert at Eko Hotel, Lagos, and the Guinness Big Eruption Concert in Accra, Ghana. That same year, he released his second album, Ayo, with the lead single as Jaiye Jaiye.
His song, Ojuelegba, released in 2015, with the remixes featuring Drake and Skepta, was a story of the struggles he faced before the limelight. It was the beginning of his collaboration with international artists. He went on to collaborate with Chris Brown for African Bad Gyal. Following his feature on Drake’s One Dance, he became the first Nigerian artist to be listed on Billboard’s Twitter Last 24 Hours chart. This was his featured appearance in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, and Germany.
His awards from 2019 to present include a Grammy Award for Best Music Video as a lead artist in Beyoncé’s Brown Skin Girl, the most awarded African at the American Music Awards, Billboard Awards, Soul Train Awards, etc. A recipient of an ASCAP plaque for his songwriting contributions in Drake’s One Dance, he also earned two Guinness World Records, the song being the first to reach a billion streams on Spotify.
Wizkid was one of the most awarded artists in the Headies Award history, was in the Top 100 Most Influential Africans by New African magazine (2019), and was nominated for Best Global Music Album for Made in Lagos Deluxe Edition and Best Global Music Performance for Essence, both in the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
Wizkid continues to be an inspiration for many up-and-coming musicians, and his legacy and contributions to the growth of Afrobeats continue to resonate across borders beyond Africa.
Written by:
Chinecherem Enuijoke