Nigerian singer and composer Wizkid. He is among the most popular musicians from Nigeria in terms of sales. Despite criticism from his family, he began his musical career at a young age. At a very young age, he found commercial success and has worked with notable musicians and producers from Nigeria as well as from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. He is one of the wealthiest African celebrities, according to Forbes. Additionally, he has frequently been mentioned in the media as one of Africa’s fastest emerging stars. After leaving school, he entered the major league music scene in 2009, and he has been on the rise ever since.
Early Childhood & Life
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, better known as Wizkid, was born in Lagos, Nigeria, on July 16, 1990. In Surulere, Lagos State, Nigeria, his family resides. His mother is a Pentecostal Christian who is different from his Sunni Muslim father.
His dad is married three times. He is the youngest of his father’s twelve female siblings. The only son of his father, he is also.
At Surulere, he finished both his primary and secondary studies. His interest in music dates back to his early years, although his family did not encourage him to make music his full-time profession.
He joined the church choir to further his love of singing and music. He began pursuing his music career at an early age against resistance from his family, and at the age of 11, he released his first studio album. However, this endeavor was unsuccessful. He took on the stage name “Lil Prinz,” and the credits for his debut studio album used this name rather than his real identity.
He made the decision to focus on his schoolwork and finish high school after his debut album’s failure. He enrolled in Lagos State University (LASU) in 2009 after high school but left because he couldn’t concentrate on his work. His parents helped him enroll at the ‘Lead City University’, a private university in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, after he left the LASU. However, he too left this university after two sessions since he had begun to concentrate more on his musical profession.
Career of Wizkid
He claims that the moment he joined his church choir was the beginning of his musical career. His early musical influences were artists like Bob Marley, Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, 2 Face Idibia, and Sound Sultan. He attributes his mentoring and coaching when he was 15 years old to the Nigerian rapper Naeto C.
He worked as a solo artist from 2001 until 2006 under the moniker “Lil Prinz.” Together with some of his choir choir buddies, he started a band they dubbed “Glorious Five.” Before breaking up, they were able to release one studio album.
During his difficult times, he connected with record producer OJB Jezreel, who later served as his mentor. He began to frequent Jezreel’s studio, where he would listen to the records of musicians like 2 Face Idibia and Sound Sultan and pick up tips from them. Jezreel counseled him to take a year off from recording in order to observe more accomplished musicians.
He signed a record deal with Empire Mates Entertainment (EME) after leaving school in 2009. He began work on his debut studio album under the stage name “Wizkid,” which was named “Superstar,” that same year. He released the album’s lead song, “Holla at Your Boy,” on January 2, 2010. The second single from the album, ‘Tease Me/Bad Guy,’ was released on April 2, 2010, while the third single, ‘Don’t Dull,’ was made available on December 6, 2010. On June 12, 2011, the EME label issued the complete album. The CD contained songs in both English and Yoruba.
He got an endorsement contract with Pepsi in 2012, purportedly for US $350,000. He began producing his second studio album, “Ayo,” in the same year. The album’s original title, “Chosen,” was altered to “Ayo” afterwards. On May 2, 2013, the album’s lead song, “Jaiye Jaiye,” which featured Nigerian musician Femi Kuti, was made available. The CD was made available on September 6, 2014. Artists including Femi Kuti, Banky W, Seyi Shay, Phyno, Tyga, Akon, and Wale make cameo appearances on it.
He made the decision to launch his own record label, Star Boy Entertainment, public on March 5, 2013. He signed sponsorship contracts with the beer firm Guiness and the mobile network MTN the same year.
He released the music video for the song “Ojuelegba” off his album “Ayo” on January 5, 2015. Rappers Drake from Canada and Skepta from England contribute guest vocals to the song’s remix. He co-wrote and performed the song
“African Bad Gyal” with American artist Chris Brown in April 2015 at Brown’s concert in Durban, South Africa. He revealed plans to release an EP and released the song “Expensive Shit” in May 2015.
He contributed to the writing and production of Drake’s single “One Dance” in 2016 and sang as a guest. On May 12, 2016, the song, which was a tremendous smash, peaked at number one on the Billboard US Hot 100 chart. The song was the number-one hit in 15 different nations, making him Nigeria’s most popular pop performer. He dropped the tune “Like This” on Drake’s OVO Radio on June 5, 2016. His third album, entitled “Sounds from the Other Side,” was made available across all digital platforms on July 14, 2017.
Recognition & Achievements
He has won a BET Award, two MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin Awards), seven Headies Awards, four MTV Africa Music Awards, one MTV Europe Music Award, six Nigeria Entertainment Awards, two Channel O Music Awards, two Ghana Music Awards, two City People Entertainment Awards, and a Future Award. He has also won three Billboard Music Awards.
Individual Life of Wizkid
Many women have claimed that he is the father of their children; he has refuted these claims, but some of them have been proven to be accurate. After doing a comprehensive investigation, “Nigerian Entertainment Today” (NET) stated in its 22nd August issue of 2011 that he fathered his first kid at the age of 21, and the mother’s name was Sola Ogudugu, who was an undergraduate student at the time. Before he finally agreed to the report in October 2013, he continued to deny it for two years. He posted a photo of his two-year-old son, Boluwatife Balogun, to his Instagram account in October 2013. He also has two more boys from two separate women, Ayodeji and Zion Balogun, and he has stated that he would like to have a daughter after having three sons. His all-female ‘baby moms’ were minors when they fell pregnant with his kids.
Net Worth of Wizkid
The estimated net worth of Wizkid is around $1 million.
Trivia
His manager is Jada Pollock, who is also the mother of his third kid.