BIOGRAPHY OF WIZKID AND TEN IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HIM
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, better known by his stage name Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and performer. He was born on July 16, 1990 in Lagos, Nigeria.
Wizkid grew up in a musical family and started singing at a young age. He first rose to prominence in 2010 when he released his first single, Holla di Boy, which became a hit in Nigeria.
In 2011, he released his debut album, Superstar, which featured the hit single, Tease Me/Bad Guys, and won Best Pop/R&B Artist at the Nigerian Entertainment Awards.
In 2012, Wizkid signed a record deal with EME Records and released his second album, Ayo, featuring the hit single ‘Jaiye Jaiye’ featuring Femi Kuti. The album won several awards and nominations, including Best Male at the MTV Africa Music Awards and Best International Act at the BET Awards.
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In 2014, Wizkid signed with Sony Music Entertainment and released his third album, Voices from the Other Side, which featured collaborations with Drake and Chris Brown. The album was a commercial success and earned Drake a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video for “Let’s Get Closer”.
Wizkid continues to release successful music and collaborate with artists such as Drake, Chris Brown, Ty Dolla $ign and French Montana. He has won several awards and accolades including several MTV Africa Music Awards, BET Awards and Headies Awards. He is considered one of the world’s greatest Afrobeat artists and is credited with helping to make the genre popular globally.
10 important facts about visas
Wizkid, whose real name is Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and performer.
He was born on July 16, 1990 in Lagos, Nigeria.
Wizkid started his music career at the age of 11 when he joined a local church choir, singing and playing drums.
In 2009, he released his first single, Holla at the Boy, which became a hit in Nigeria and launched his career as a recording artist.
Wizkid released several albums including Superstar (2011), Ayo (2014) and Voices from the Other Side (2017) which were well received by fans and critics.
He has won several awards for his music, including three MTV Africa Music Awards, two BET Awards and a Grammy Award.
Wizkid is known for his unique blend of Afrobeat, R&B and pop music and has collaborated with several other artists including Drake, Chris Brown and Skepta.
Aside from his music career, Wizkid also runs a record label called Starboy Entertainment and has endorsed several brands including Pepsi and Nike.
In 2020, he was named the fifth richest African musician by Forbes, with an estimated net worth of over $20 million.
Wizkid is considered one of the most successful and influential musicians in Africa and continues to inspire and influence the next generation of Nigerian artists.
His real name is Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun
Wizkid is a Nigerian singer and songwriter born on July 16, 1990 in Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria. In an interview with Factory 78 TV’s Adesope, Wizkid revealed that he and two of his friends formed a group called the ‘Famous Five’. They managed to release an album before breaking up. At that time, until 2006, his stage name was Lil Prince. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Empire Mates Entertainment, marking his entry into the music industry.
Wizkid collaborated with Drake on his hit single ‘One Dance’.
“One Dance” is a song that embraces multiculturalism, with an Afrobeat boost over a British funky sample over a dance-centric rhythm. One Dance, produced by Boy-1da, is one of the best-selling singles of all time and is Wizkid’s biggest single of his career. Drake, like many listeners before him, felt the excitement of the song when Wizkid got to listen to it and knew its importance in the project he was working on. In an interview, Wizkid described the song as “a perfect marriage of many things” and was the first of three songs that led to the huge commercial success of Views (Drake’s fourth album). He is currently one of Nigeria’s biggest Afrobeats crossover acts, having worked with Drake, Skepta and Chris Brown.
Musical inspirations include Prabu Sunny Ade and Fela Kuti
King Sunny Ade is the undisputed king of juju music, a dance-making hybrid of Western pop and traditional African music rooted in the Nigerian guitar tradition. Additionally, Fela Kuti is a larger than life producer, multi-instrumentalist and musician. Kuti combines raw guitar and jazz flow of traditional highlife with hard-hitting harmonies, electrifying polyrhythms, and political lyrical content to create Afrobeat. Wizkid cites Naeto C as one of the people who mentored and trained him when he was 15 years old.
Wizkid became famous with the song “Holla at Your boy”.
At the age of 19, Wizkid hit radio stations in Nigeria with the song ‘Holla at your boy’. Produced by Dj Klem (Knighthouse) and Vebee, this song is the first single from his debut album Superstar. At first, the fact that this song was performed by a Nigerian caused controversy among fans. With Western-infused lyrics, the harmonizing singer invited the audience to wave to him as he drove. It is bold, fresh and impressive. The song was nominated for Best Pop Artist and won Nextwi Rated at The Headies 2011. In addition to receiving this award, a 2012 Hyundai Sonata was awarded, courtesy of the organizers. This music video was nominated for Most Talented Newcomer Video at the 2011 O O Music Video Awards.
Performed and sold out of 02 arenas in London
The rising star sold out the O2 Arena in May 2018 and again in October 2019, becoming the first African artist to sell out the venue twice. The latter has recently shown its influence on the Afrobeats scene, as international acts such as London’s Afro B and veteran Grime artist Skepta have graced the stage. Nigeria’s Tiwa Savage, Burna Boy, Naira Marley, rising star Fireboy DML and Oxlade join him to celebrate the biggest night celebrating African sounds, as well as music from black artists in the diaspora. Later in 2021, Wizkid sold out the O2 Arena show in 12 minutes. Two more dates were added in the 20,000-capacity venue, both sold out: the second in just two minutes. 02, London’s iconic and world-renowned venue, is one of the most famous music venues in the world, hosting the likes of The Rolling Stones, Robbie Williams and Beyonce.
Hit song ‘Ojuelegba’ hits #1 on Capital Xtra’s Afrobeats Chart
Wizkid has been at the forefront of the global penetration of Afrobeats since the release of Ojuelegba – a song that traces his humble beginnings from the outskirts of Lagos – marked his international success. Ojuelegba is a great cultural moment. It was inspired by an official remix with Skepta and Drake, instead of many covers by artists. It’s fair to say that WizKid has come a long way since his first official music video for ‘Holla At Your Boy’. In an interview with Fader magazine, he revealed that he didn’t expect it to be a hit song: I know “Ojuelegba” is a good song, but I didn’t expect it to explode like that. My parents still live there. We have a house there.
Done in Beyonce’s tribute to The Lion King: Brown Skin Girl.
Wizkid has proven himself time and time again as an African Starboy and a global megastar. In 2019, the song “Brown Skin Girl” was released by Beyoncé.
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