Another wonderful Artist Nigerians are proud of is Wizkid. It’s undoubtedly true that Davido and Wizkid are the two most popular and traveled musicians in Nigeria today.
Who is Wizkid?
Wizkid, full name, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, was born on the 16th of July, 1990. Wizkid, also called STARBOY by his numerous fans, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Due to his love for music, Starboy started recording music at the very tender age of 11, which saw him release a collaborative album with the Glorious Five.
What is Glorious Five?
Glorious 5 is Wizkid’s First Music Group which was formed by Wizkid, with his church friends.
However, his macho music talent was noticed by no other person but Banky W, and in 2009, he signed a record deal with Banky W.’s crew, which is known as “Empire Mates Entertainment” (E.M.E).
In an interview Starboy had with Alex Frank in 2015 of Vogue magazine, the musician wore a mixture of street-wear and traditional Nigerian clothes. When asked about his fashion styles, the musician claimed “Pharrell Williams” One of American most respected musicians, as one of his fashion style icons.
The superstar revealed his plans to establish a clothing line following the release of his debut EP, those where his wishes.
The song that introduced Wizkid to the world is: Holla at your boy.
The very song that brought out the star in Starboy, and made him a household name in Nigeria and other countries in Africa, was “Holla at young boy” which was released in 2010 under Banky W E.M.E group, from his debut studio album, the Nigerian artist went as far as releasing national hits like;
“Tease Me/Bad Guys”, “Don’t Dull”, “Pakurumo” “Love me baby” and “Oluwa Lo Ni” respectively, and these songs were all released in 2011.
Wizkid Second Album “AYO”.
The second album of Wizkid was released in September 2014, which the Musician titled Ayo, which was eventually preceded by six singles: “Jaiye Jaiye”, “On Top Your Matter”, “One Question”, “Joy”, “Bombay” and “Show You the Money” respectively.
Wizkid International Recognition.
The Nigerian superstar is known as one of the most international musicians in the History of Nigerian music. Wizkid was credited for his hard work which made him achieve international recognition. Starboy did collaborate with Drake on the global hit, “One Dance”, and the song, “One Dance” rank number1 in 15 different countries namely, United Kingdom, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, etc.
Wizkid has continuously worked on himself to become one of the best in the Nigerian and international music world. the musician went ahead to collaborate with Some of the best musicians in Nigeria and the world. One of his greatest collaboration to date is with Beyonce, in the track, Black Skin Girl.
He has been featured on hit tracks like “Girl” report has it that he paired with Bracket in “Sexy Mama, with Iyanya, Slow Down with R2Bees, The Matter, with Maleek Berry, Pull Over with KCee, Fine Lady with Lynxxx, and Bad Girl with Jesse Jagz respectively.
Wizkid left E.M.E on the 1st of March, 2017, if we are to believe the Billboard magazine, it was reported that the Nigerian superstar signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records. It was also told that the deal was reported by numerous media channels back in September 2016.
Making it known that Wizkid has signed a deal with RCA Records, the chairman, and CEO of RCA Records, Peter Edge, confirmed the signing while speaking in the Music Business Worldwide in January 2017.
Wizkid’s Early Life and Career Beginnings.
The famous Nigerian artist, Wizkid hails from Surulere, in Lagos State, Wizkid grew up surrounded by Females. The artist, Wizkid grew up in a house of twelve female siblings.
Wizkid Religion.
Most times, the religion of a child is mostly determined by his/her parents, and this is no different from that of this artist. However, Starboy’s parent are of different religion, His Mother is a full-time Christian and the father a Muslim. Meaning that Wizkid grew up in a liberal home.
The superstar disclosed in an interview with Tim Westwood in 2012, that due to the belief of his father’s religion, his father had three wives.
Which Age Did Wizkid Start Music?
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, also known as Wizkid, started his music career right from the very tender age of 11. Surprisingly, before fame discovers Starboy, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, he called himself and goes by the stage name, Lil Prinz until 2006.
The superstar shared an insight into his life, in an interview with Adesope of Factory 78 TV; where the artist disclosed that he formed a group called the Glorious Five, with his friend’s right inside the church. It was later revealed that the group released an album.
However, Glorious Five didn’t make it long after the release of their first album, and they broke up and stop functioning.
The veteran superstar Wizkid co-wrote Banky W’s music titled “Omoge You Too Much”, a song which was off the W Experience album. Wizkid have worked with great artists like Naeto C, OJB Jezreel, Ikechukwu, and M.I, during the time he was recording the Superstar Album in 2009.
The Surulere born artist has been linked with several Record Labels, However, he chooses and decided that for him to pay more attention to his music career, to drop out of Lagos State University (LASU) and focus ONLY on Music.
Although, he later enrolled into the Lead City University, which he didn’t also complete but dropped out after completing just two sessions.
With time, the superstar met OJB Jezreel, a record producer who later prevented him from recording for a year. He was present and actually watched Legendary Nigerian Musician, 2Face Idibia record songs for his Grass 2 Grace album;
Starboy was also present during the recording of Sound of Sultan’s debut album, Jagbajantis.
In spite of the success level Wizkid has attained, he never failed to give thanks and respect to Naeto C, whom he also mentioned as one of the people who coached him when he was 15 years old.
Wizkid told Factory 78 TV that right from the beginning of his career, his parents weren’t willing to give him a go-ahead. So in other to prove the critics wrong and as well gain his father’s trust, he had to work hard and spend almost all his free time and strength in the studio which turned out to be well in the end.
There is absolutely no need to tell you that his parents are in full support of his Career today.
List Of Wizkid’s Musics & Where To Download.
Here is a complete list of songs written and produced by Wizkid
- Caro (feat. Lax)
- Ojuelegba
- Azonto
- Drop
- Beat of life
- African bad girl
- Expensive Sh*t
- Kind love
- In my bed
- Wiz party
- Final
- Eledumare
- Baba Nla
- On top your matter
- Joy
- One question
- Bombey
- Jaiye Jaiya
- Show Your money
- Shout out
- No lele
- Scatter the floor etc.
Where to Download Wizkid’s Music
- mymusic.com.ng
- okhype.com
- tooxclusive.com
Wizkid on the Dance With Drake And Others
The superstar on the 5th of April 2016, became the very first Nigerian artist to emerge on Billboard’s Twitter Last 24 hour’s chart, which was made possible following his guest feature on Drake’s afrobeat track titled “One Dance”.
The song was able to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position which ONE Dance was able to keep for 10 consecutive weeks.
As luck may have it, the single track went on to become an international hit which was topping the charts in 15 different countries namely United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, and Germany, etc.
On the 5th of June 2016, Wizkid released the promotional single titled “Like this”. This song made its premiere on Drake’s OVO Sound Radio in June 2016, which was said to be produced by an Amsterdam-based Ghanaian producer DJ Henry X.Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork Media, describing the song to be frolicking.
Wizkid Houses.
One question that many Wizkid fanbases are asking is this; how many houses does Wizkid have?
It should not be a thing of Surprise that Wizkid is one of Nigerian’s richest artists. Wizkid has several expensive properties which are all registered in his name. It’s quite funny to see several people estimate how Much Wizkid is worth, both in Shares, Properties, etc without any concrete proof.
Here is a list of Wizkid Houses.
- Wizkid does have a classic house which is said to worth N13 Million, This building is situated in Surulere Lagos mainland.
- Wizkid also owns a mansion in the Los Angeles state of California. The building’s worth was not specified but a verified report has it that the mansion is worth millions of dollars.
- As if this was not enough, this rich Nigerian artist is also a landlord of a classic mansion in Lekki, Lagos state which is said to worth N68 Million respectively.
Wizkid Cars.
Wizkid is not only blessed with classic houses, but he is also to like expensive cars too. If you are to discuss artists with the most expensive cars in Nigeria, Wizkid cannot be left behind.
Only pictures shared via his Instagram stories, one can easily see that Starboy is blessed with fleets of expensive cars.
Rumors circulating around the globe that the superstar is on the verge of adding to his car collection as he plans to buy a Lamborghini Prime X2 worth around N28 Million.
Wizkid’s Porsche Panamera, a car he bought in 2013 was involved in a car accident that damaged the car; he didn’t waste any time at all in replacing it just within a month!
The car was said to worth N15 Million each and he wouldn’t stop making noise because he is on the verge of purchasing two Porsches, below are some of Wizkid’s cars.
- Hyundai Sonata worth around N6 Million
- BMW X6 worth N11 Million,
- Mercedes 2012 Compressor worth around N9 Million,
- Bentley worth around N45 Million. Etc.
- G Wagon
Wizkid’s Net Worth
The Nigerian super talented singer was so humble, which made him to be an assistant to Banky W. Wizkid co-author of one of Banky W’s hit track titled “Omoge You Too Much”, ever since, they became just more than friends.
We discovered that the first official song made him a superstar, and it went viral as well. The official video for the hit track of his ex-boss, Banky W, shows the Wizkid-school student flirting with his beautiful schoolmate.
Wizkid came 5th on the list of Forbes 10 Richest Nigeria celebrity in 2013, and was the first Nigerian musician who has more than 1 million subscribers on Twitter. All thanks to monetization on Itunes, Spinlet, and YouTube; it was revealed that he earns about 13 million dollars.
Wizkid’s Current net worth is worth about 12 Million dollars.
Based on our research, we came to find out that Wizkid happens to be the ambassador of Pepsi soft drink in Nigeria, before his bitter rival in the music industry, Davido was added in 2016. The report emerged that Davido made a whooping N70 Million from the deal.
It is also reported that Wizkid owns a filling (fuel station) which is said to be situated in Victoria Island. In several interviews, starboy refuses to talk anything about the filling station when asked.
The Nigerian superstar signed a one-year deal with Pepsi worth $350,000, and also signed a N40 Million naira deal with MTN Nigeria. In 2013, Wizkid also signed a reported N100 Million naira deal with Glo and Guinness, which saw him became a brand ambassador.
Stats shows that Wizkid charges a region of N2 to N4 Million Naira per show for bookings and charges, and also he charges N5million to 10 Million Naira per show just for special organized events and concerts.
If Forbes is to be trusted, the superstar singer is said to be the 5th richest pop musician in Africa, making his networth over $12 Million Dollars.
Musicians Wizkid Collaborated With
- Femi Kuti,
- Banky W.,
- Seyi Shay,
- Phyno,
- Tyga,
- Akon
- Wale,
Wizkid second album, AYO launch party featured performances from Banky W, Skales, 2face Idibia, Samklef, Wande Coal, D’Prince, Olamide, eLDee, Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince, Lynxxx, and Seyi Shay.
The album’s production was handled by Sarz, Shizzi, Uhuru, Del B, Dokta Frabz, Maleek Berry, Legendury Beatz and Spellz. It was initially titled Chosen.
StarBoy Entertainment.
You should also know that Wizkid has his own Record Label after crashing out on E.M.E Record Label. On the 5th of March 2013, Charles Mgbolu (a writer for Vanguard) reported that Wizkid established his label imprint “Starboy Entertainment”.
During an interview with Ben Bruce owned Silverbird Television, Wizkid went on to disclose to Yvonne Vixen Ekwere, that he planned on signing new acts to the StarBOY Entertainment label.
Wizkid told Showtime Celebrity, that one of the major reasons he established his own record label, is to give up-and-coming artists, a friendly and fierce platform to showcase their talent.
On the 17th of April 2013, Wizkid signed Maleek Berry to Starboy Entertainment. Wizkid and Maleek Berry later released various Music, including: “Lagos to Soweto” and “The Matter”, among others.
Fast-forward 12 days later, on the 29th of April 2013, there were confirmed reported that Wizkid signed producers Uzezi Oniko and Okiemute Oniko, popularly known as Legendury Beatz, to his StarBoy Entertainment. He made the announcement via Twitter.
On 9 May 2013, he later shared and unveiled photos of himself with the aforementioned acts signed. Artists signed by Wizkid includes L.A.X to the label. You should also know that the VERY first official video released by StarBOY Entertainment, is the music video for “Caro”.
While on the 7th of May, 2016, Wizkid announced the signings of artists like:
Efya, R2Bees, and Mr. Eazi to Starboy Entertainment. He made the announcement shortly after his performance at the 17th edition of the Ghana Music Awards.
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