King of Nigerian Afrobeat, singer, and songwriter, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun popularly known as Wizkid has just turned a year older today. He is celebrating his 29th birthday and the whole social media platforms are buzzing as fans, friends, family and colleagues in the industry have been sending in their wishes to him.
A large number of people celebrating the Superstar doesn’t come as a surprise as the young legend has succeeded in winning the hearts of many over the years via his pure talent embedded in his music.
Early Career
Wizkid Ayo was born on July 16, 1990. He started recording music at age 11 and managed to release a collaborative album with the Glorious Five, a group he and a couple of his church friends formed. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E) owned by Banky W.
He rose to prominence in 2010 with the release of the song “Holla at Your Boy” from his debut studio album, Superstar (2011). “Tease Me/Bad Guys”, “Don’t Dull”, “Love My Baby”, “Pakurumo” and “Oluwa Lo Ni” were also released as singles from the Superstar album. In February 2014, Wizkid became the first-ever Nigerian musician to have over 1 million followers on Twitter.
Ayo, his self-titled second studio album, was released on September 2014. It was supported by six singles: “Jaiye Jaiye”, “On Top Your Matter”, “One Question”, “Joy”, “Bombay” and “Show You the Money”. Following the release of his second studio album and expiration of his 5-year recording contract, Wizkid left E.M.E.
Endorsement
In 2012, Wizkid signed a one-year endorsement deal with Pepsi reportedly worth 350,000 U.S dollars. He traveled 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.
Moreover, the news source reported that Wizkid’s Pepsi contract was renewed for another two years.
On 23 October 2013, BellaNaija reported that Wizkid signed an endorsement deal with Guinness for the “Guinness World of More” concert, which was held at the Eko Convention Centre of the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos on 3 November 2013. On 18 June 2015, Pulse reported that Wizkid ditched MTN and signed a ₦128 million deal with GLO.
Hit Song
He released the hit song “Ojuelegba” from his self-titled second studio album, ‘Ayo’ in 2014. “Ojuelegba” was written by Wizkid and produced by the record producing duo Legendury Beatz. The song shares its title with the metropolitan subsection of Lagos Mainland. It highlights Wizkid’s struggles as an underground artist, who roamed the streets of Ojuelegba to support his recording interest.
The song received numerous airplay on all major radio stations in Nigeria and peaked at number 1 on Capital Xtra’s Afrobeats Chart for February 2015. The official remix for “Ojuelegba” features vocals from Canadian rapper Drake and English grime artist Skepta. It made its premiere on OVO Sound Radio on July 2015. The song was ranked number 12 on the list of the 107 Best Songs of 2015 compiled by The Fader magazine. Prior to the release of the official remix, Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie released his rendition of “Ojuelegba”.
Recognition
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. In addition to his solo work, Wizkid has collaborated with several other artists and was featured on the hits “Girl” (with Bracket), “Fine Lady” (with Lynxxx), “Sexy Mama” (with Iyanya), “Slow Down” (with R2Bees), “The Matter” (with Maleek Berry), “Pull Over” (with KCee) and “Bad Girl” (with Jesse Jagz).
Moreover, he became the first Afrobeats artist to appear in the 2018 Guinness World Records for his contribution to Drake’s hit song “One Dance”.
On 1 March 2017, Billboard magazine reported that Wizkid signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records. Wizkid was ranked 5th on Forbes and Channel O’s 2013 list of the Top 10 Richest/Bankable African Artists.
Wizkid’s contribution to the Nigerian Music Industry has earned him several achievements. He received an ASCAP plaque for his songwriting contributions to Drake’s “One Dance”.