Wizkid

Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, better known as Wizkid, was born on 16 July 1990 in the Ojuelegba area of Surulere, Lagos. He is a Nigerian singer and songwriter whose work is central to the Afrobeats movement. His sound draws from Afrobeats, afropop, R&B, reggae, dancehall, and pop. He started recording at age eleven and was part of a church group called the Glorious Five, which released a collaborative album before splitting. In 2009, he signed with Banky W’s Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E). His first big break came with the single “Holla at Your Boy,” the lead track from his debut album *Superstar* (2011), which also included “Tease Me/Bad Guys” and “Don’t Dull.”

His second album, *Ayo*, came out on 17 September 2014 and had six singles, including “Jaiye Jaiye.” After his E.M.E. contract ended, he left the label. International fame arrived in 2016 when he worked with Drake on “One Dance,” which hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped charts in fourteen other countries. That song set several records. In March 2017, he signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records and released his third album, *Sounds from the Other Side*, later that year. It had five singles, including “Come Closer” featuring Drake.

In 2019, he appeared on “Brown Skin Girl” from Beyoncé’s project *The Lion King: The Gift*, winning a Grammy for Best Music Video. His fourth album, *Made in Lagos*, dropped in October 2020 and reached number one on the Billboard World Albums chart. The single “Essence” with Tems became the first Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist, and a remix with Justin Bieber pushed it into the top ten. His fifth album, *More Love, Less Ego*, was released on 11 November 2022. His sixth, *Morayo*—dedicated to his late mother—came out on 22 November 2024 and set the record for the biggest streaming debut for an African album on Spotify.

Wizkid grew up in an interfaith home with twelve sisters; his mother was a Pentecostal Christian and his father a Muslim. He attended Ijebu Ode Grammar School and was influenced by King Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti, and Bob Marley. In a 2012 radio interview, he said his father had three wives. He originally performed as Lil Prinz until 2006.