Wizkid

A prominent figure in the modern day Afrobeats music scene, he is regarded as one of the most commercially successful and most influential African recording artists of the 21st century.

He began recording music at the age of 11 and released a collaborative album with the Glorious Five (5), a group he and a couple of his church friends formed.

Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter.

Wizkid was born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun on 16 July 1990, in Surulere, Lagos.

He grew up in an interfaith household with twelve female siblings.

His mother is a Pentecostal Christian and his father practices Islam.

Wizkid attended Ijebu Ode Grammar School.

He grew up listening to King Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti and Bob Marley.

Wizkid went by the stage name Lil Prinz until 2006.

He later met OJB Jezreel, a record producer who prevented him from recording for a year.

While visiting OJB's Point Beat Studios frequently, he watched 2 Face Idibia record songs for his Grass 2 Grace album.

He was also present during the recording sessions for Sound Sultan's debut album Jagbajantis.

He cited Naeto C as one of the people who mentored and coached him when he was 15 years old.

In 2009, Wizkid signed a record deal with Banky W's Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E).

Wizkid inked a record deal with Empire Mates Entertainment in 2009.

He co-wrote "Omoge You Too Much", a song from Banky W.'s The W Experience album.

He also worked with Naeto C, Ikechukwu and M.I while developing his craft.

In mid-2009, he dropped out of Lagos State University (LASU).

He later attended Lead City University, but dropped out after completing two sessions.

Wizkid began recording his debut studio album Superstar in 2009.

He released "Holla at Your Boy" as the album's lead single on 2 January 2010.

On 2 April 2010, Wizkid released "Tease Me/Bad Guys" as the album's second single.

He later rose to the limelight after releasing "Holla at Your Boy", the lead single from his debut studio album, Superstar (2011), which also spawned the singles "Tease Me/Bad Guys" and "Don't Dull".

The song was nominated for Best Pop Single, and earned him the Next Rated award at The Headies 2011.

Its music video was nominated for Most Gifted Newcomer Video at the 2011 Channel O Music Video Awards.

In a radio interview with Tim Westwood in 2012, he said that "his father has three wives".

In another interview with Adesope of Factory 78 TV, Wizkid said he formed a group called the Glorious Five with a couple of his church friends.

They managed to release an album prior to disbanding.

In addition to winning the award, he was awarded a 2012 Hyundai Sonata courtesy of the organizers.

In September 2014, he released the self-titled second studio album, Ayo. The album was supported by six singles, including the song "Jaiye Jaiye".

Wizkid left E.M.E. after his contract expired.

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 additional countries.

The song broke multiple records, making Wizkid the first afrobeats artist to appear in the Guinness World Records.

In March 2017, he signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records and released his third studio album Sounds from the Other Side, later that year.

The album was supported by five singles, including "Come Closer" featuring Drake.

In 2018, he was featured on the song "Checklist" by Normani and Calvin Harris, which reached number-one on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart.

The following year, he was featured on Beyoncé's project The Lion King: The Gift on the single "Brown Skin Girl", which also reached number-one on the World Digital Song Sales chart, and won him a Grammy Award for Best Music Video.

In October 2020, he released his fourth album, Made in Lagos, which received commercial success and acclaim, reaching number-one on the Billboard World Album Chart.

The album includes the single "Essence" featuring Tems, which became the first Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached the top ten following a remix released by Justin Bieber.

Wizkid's fifth album More Love, Less Ego was released on 11 November 2022.