Wizkid at 30: 30 Things To Know

The kid no doubt has come off age. It’s been an interesting journey since the Starboy storm the Nigerian music scene with his monstrous debut hit single, “Holla at Your Boy”. He has no doubt made Nigeria proud globally with his craft.

To celebrate Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun aka Wizkid at 30, we chronicled his journey to stardom in this special feature.

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

2. He grew up in an interfaith household with twelve female siblings. His mother is a Pentecostal Christian and his father practices Islam.

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

4. Wizkid attended Ijebu Ode Grammar School.

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

6. Wizkid went by the stage name Lil Prinz until 2006.

7. Wizkid began his singing career when he was 11 years old, in 2001. He recorded his first song with OJB Jezreel and also recorded a 7-track album under the stage name Lil Prinz.

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

9. Wizkid's very first single is titled 'Mami water.' We don't think you knew that!

10. While trying to horn his skills, Wizkid worked with Naeto C, Ikechukwu and M.I Abaga.

11. He featured on MI’s hit single, “Fast Money, Fast Cars”.

12. In mid-2009, he dropped out of Lagos State University (LASU). He later attended Lead City University, but dropped out after completing two sessions.

13. In 2009, Wizkid signed a record deal with Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E).

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

15. He rise to prominence after releasing "Holla at Your Boy", the lead single from his debut studio album Superstar (2011), the song nominated for Best Pop Single but earned him the Next Rated award at The Headies 2011

16. In February 2014, Wizkid became the first Nigerian musician to have over one million followers on Twitter.

17. After the expiry of his 5 years contract with EME, Wizkid left the record label to float his own imprint, StarBoy Records which he said he had established to give up-and-coming artists a platform to showcase their talent.

18. Wizkid is an ambassador of GLO, Pepsi, Ciroc, UBA, Tecno Mobile among others.

19. 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, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. 

20. He signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records in March 2017.

21. Wizkid became the first Afrobeats artist to appear in the 2018 Guinness World Records for his contribution to "One Dance".

22. On 12 November 2012, Wizkid performed at the BBC Radio 1Xtra Live 02 Academy in Brixton alongside Trey Songz, Tulisa, Kendrick Lamar and Angel.

23. On 5 January 2015, Wizkid released the music video for "Ojuelegba", a song that highlights the struggles he endured in the early years of his recording career. The song's official remix features vocals from Drake and Skepta; it premiered on OVO Sound Radio in July 2015.

24. To his credit, Wizkid has 4 albums: Superstar (2011), Ayo (2014), Sounds from the Other Side (2017) and Made in Lagos (2020). On 6 December 2019, Wizkid's label Starboy Entertainment released the EP Soundman Vol. 1, centering mainly on Wizkid, and containing features from Chronixx, and a variety of other artists.

25. He signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records in March 2017. 

26. Wizkid has collaborated with many top artistes across the world including the likes of Drake, Major Lazer, Chris Brown, Ty Dolla Sign, Efya, Bucie and Trey Songz.

27. Wizkid has three male children (from three different women), Boluwatife (Shola Ogudugu), Ayodeji (Binta Diallo) and Zion (Jade Pollock).

28. Wizkid cited Pharrell Williams as one of his fashion style icons and he had walked the runway for Dolce and Gabbana alongside supermodel Naomi Campbell. 

29. Wizkid's contributions to the Nigerian music industry have earned him several achievements. He received an ASCAP plaque for his songwriting contributions to Drake's "One Dance". As of 2017, Wizkid had received a total of 43 awards from 157 nominations. And he is the First African Artiste to bag seven Billboard Nominations.

30. Wizkid has performed at various international concerts such as: Staboy Fest O2 Arena, Guinness Colorful World of More concert, Live Nation Asia and UK, Wireless UK, etc.

Wizkid is the first African to not only perform but also sell out London's most iconic venue, Royal Albert Hall as Headliner, joining musicians like Beatles, Adele, Elton. He sold out the venue in less than 72 hours and had a stellar performance on that night.