At age 21, Nigerian singer, song writer, and record label owner Wizkid burst onto the African music scene with his remarkable boyish charm and captivating voice, and since then, this creative artist has gone on to be one of the most commercially successful and influential African recording artists of the 21st century.
Wizkid’s real name is Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun. He was born on July 16, 1990, in Surulere district in Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos, to an interfaith family.
His father is Alhaji Muniru Olatunji Balogun, a muslim, businessman and politician, and a Christian mother, Jane Dolapo Balogun, who was also a businesswoman and is credited with giving Wizkid unwavering support as he embarked on his journey to becoming a music star.
His mother died on August 18, 2023.
Wizkid was the only son of his mother with two sisters, but his father had two other wives, and in all, Wizkid grew up with 12 siblings.
Wizkid began singing when he was just 11 years old in a church, forming a group called the Glorious Five with some of his church friends. They managed to release an album prior to disbanding. Then Wizkid went by the stage name Lil Prinz until 2006.
That was when he realised he was much more than a little prince. He began going to studios and meeting artists, and his remarkable talent began to come to light.
By the late 2000s, Wizkid was working as a hypeman—a supporting performer who sings alongside an artist to engage the audience. He worked with rapper Kelz and also recorded choruses for famous Nigerian rapper MI.
In 2019, he signed a multi-album recording deal with Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E.) under the ownership of singer-songwriter Banky W.
In 2011, he officially hit the limelight with "Holla at Your Boy." This was the lead single from his debut studio album, Superstar, and it was an album loaded with hits"—"Tease Me and "Don't Dull" are some examples. Since then, Wizkid has been unstoppable.
In 2016, Wizkid achieved international recognition following his collaboration with Drake on the hit single "One Dance," which reached number-one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in 14 other countries.
The song broke multiple records, making Wizkid the first afrobeats artist to appear on the Guinness Book of World Records as the first track to reach one billion streams on Spotify in December 2016.
In 2022, the singer broke another record, selling out his London O2 Arena concert in two minutes.
Since then, Wizkid has gone on to work with other global music heavyweights, such as Beyonce in ‘’Brown Skin Girl’’ and Justin Bieber in ''Essence, which also featured Nigerian entertainer Tems.
Wizkid says he is heavily influenced by music legends such as Nigeria's King Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti, and Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley.
His hits are endless: Joro, Ojuelegba, Tease Me, Pakurumo, Sweet Love, Caro, and Ginger, to name a few.
Wizkid is proud of his sound as an interesting mix of music elements: afrobeats, R&B, dancehall, and reggae.
Wizkid has at least 40 career awards, including the Grammy Award for Best Music Video as a lead artist on Beyoncé's "Brown Skin Girl in 2021 and the BET Award for Best International Act: Africa in 2017.
Wizkid charges between 800,000 and one million dollars. He is the father of four children with three different women.
Across Africa, Wizkid has worked with Tanzania's Diamond Platnumz, South Africa’s DJ Maphorisa, and scores of Nigerian acts, including award-winning Nigerian singer Burna Boy and Afrobeat queen Tiwa Savage, as examples.
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