Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, who is professionally known as WIZKID, is currently one of the Biggest African Artist Taking Afro Beats to the World. Wizkid (born 16 July 1990), is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He started recording music at the age of 11 and managed to release a collaborative album with the Glorious Five, a group he and a couple of his church friends formed. Wizkid signed a record deal with Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E) in 2009.
He became a sweet sensation to the Nigerian Youth after releasing “Holla At Your Boy”, the lead single from his debut album under EME “SUPERSTAR” in (2011). Wizkid was the Bad boy your mother warned you about but with a Baby face that would melt any mother’s heart and he backed that up with sweet melodies such as “Tease Me, Bad Guys, Don’t Dull, Love My Baby, Pakurumo and Oluwa Lo Ni” were also released as singles from the Superstar album. The Album earned him the Next Rated Award at the Headies 2011, and a 2012 Hyundai Sonata Car. The Album also won The Nigeria album of 2011 and also the Best Album of the year at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards in 2012. In February 2014, Wizkid became the first ever Nigerian musician to have over 1 million followers on Twitter.
Ayo(In Yoruba means JOY) is an eponymous titled album from his name AYODEJI. It was released on September 17, 2014 by STAR BOY ENTERTAINMENT & EMPIRE MATES ENTERTAINMENT. It was supported by six singles: “Jaiye Jaiye”, “On Top Your Matter”, “One Question”, “Joy”, “Bombay” and “Show You the Money”. It won the best R&B/POP album at the Headies in 2015. Wizkid left E.M.E after his contract expired.
In 2016, Wizkid achieved international recognition following his collaboration with Drake on the global hit, “One Dance”, which reached number one in 15 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. He went on to sign a multi-album deal with RCA records in March 2017.
His third studio album Sounds From The Other Side was released on 14 July 2017. It serves as his Major Label debut together with StarBoy Entertainment & Sony Music International . The Genres involved were primarily Afro beats, EDM, R&B, House, Dance Hall and Caribbean Infused. SFTOS was supported by five singles: “Daddy Yo”, “Sweet Love”, “Come Closer(One of his biggest Hit from the Album)”, “African Bad Gyal” and “Naughty Ride”. The producers that helped put the album together were The Picard brothers, Sarz, Del B, DJ Mustard and many more.
The Album was ranked 107 on the US Billboard 200 and 58 on Canadian Album Charts. It Also won the R&B Pop Album under the Headies in 2018.
As Wizkid clearly stated in his show at The Royal Albert Hall in London “StarBoy Has only One Problem – and the problem is WIZKID GOT TOO MANY HITS” so permit me to mention a few. In addition to his solo work, Wizkid has collaborated with several other artists and was featured on the hits “Brown Skin Girl (with Beyonce), “Bad Energy (Stay Far Away)” (with Skepta), “Sexy Mama” (with Iyanya), “Slow Down” (with R2Bees), “The Matter” (with Maleek Berry), “Pull Over” (with KCEE) and “Bad Girl” (with Jesse Jagz), and “Checklist” (with Normani and Calvin Harris). Moreover, he became the first Afrobeats artist to appear in the 2018 Guiness World Records for his contribution to “One Dance”.
Endorsements
In 2012, Wizkid signed a one-year endorsement deal with Pepsi reportedly worth 350,000 U.S dollars. He travelled to Beirut, Lebanon with Tiwa Savage for a Pepsi commercial shoot. On 28 May 2013, Premium Times reported that Wizkid signed a one-year deal with MTN Nigeria. The newspaper also reported that Wizkid’s Pepsi contract was renewed for two additional years. In November 2013, Wizkid signed an endorsement deal with Guiness for the Guinness World of More concert, held at the Eko Convention Centre of the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos. In June 2015, Pulse Nigeria reported that Wizkid ditched MTN and signed a ₦128 million deal with GLO.
He recently signed mouth watering deals with Ciroc, Tecno, Nike, UBA and like a Boss he Left with the BAG.
Fashion style & Networth
In an interview with Alex Frank of Vogue magazine in February 2015, Wizkid said he wears a mixture of street wear and traditional Nigerian clothes. He cited Pharrel Williams as one of his fashion style icons. Moreover, he revealed plans to establish a clothing line following the release of Sounds from the Other Side. Wizkid is believed to be one of the Richest African Musicians by Forbes and his worth is placed at roughly $4 million.
Personal Awards
- Promising Artist of the Year, Dynamix All Youths Awards, 2010
- Best New Male Artiste, City People Entertainments Awards, 2011
- Best New Act of the Year, Nigeria Entertainment Awards, 2011
- Artiste of the Year, Dynamix All Youth Awards, 2011
- Best African Art, Music of Black Origin, 2011
- Best Pop/R&B Artist of the Year, Nigeria Entertainment Award, 2012
- Hip Hop World Revelation of the Year, The Headies 2012
- Artist of the Year, The Headies, 2012
- Best International Act Africa, BET Awards, 2012
- Musician of the Year, The Future Awards, 2012
- Musician of the Year (Male), Nigeria Entertainment Awards, 2013
- African Artist of the Year, Ghana Music Awards, 2013
- Male Artist of the Year, Nigeria Entertainment Awards, 2015
- African Artist of the Year, Ghana Music Awards, 2016
- African Artist of the Year, African Pride Awards, 2016
- Best West African Artist, Music of Black Origin (MOBO), 2017
- Artiste of the Year, Music of Black Origin (MOBO), 2017
- Best International Artist, Music of Black Origin (MOBO), 2017
Awards For his Songs
- Next Rated, ‘Holla at Your Boy’, The Headies, 2011
- Best Album of the Year ‘Superstar’, Nigeria Entertainment Awards, 2012
- Best Group Video of the Year ‘Slow Down’ R2Bees featuring Wizkid, 4syte TV Music Video Awards, 2013
- Most Gifted Video of the Year ‘Azonto’ Channel O Music Video Awards, 2013
- Hottest Single of the Year ‘Pull Over’ Nigeria Entertainment Awards, 2014
- Most Gifted Duo/Group ‘Pull Over’ Kcee featuring Wizkid, Channel O Music Video Awards, 2014
- Best Recording of the Year ‘Ojuelegba’, The Headies 2015
- Best R&B/Pop Album ‘Ayo’ The Headies 2015
- Album of the Year ‘Ayo’ The Headies 2015
- Hottest Single of the Year, ‘Ojuelegba’ Nigeria Entertainment Award, 2015
- Video of the Year ‘Ojuelegba’ African Muzik Magazine Awards, 2015
- Song of the Year, ‘Ojuelegba’ African Muzik Magazine Awards, 2015
- Song of the Year, ‘Come Closer’ African Music Award (AFRIMA), 2017
