Wizkid began recording music at the age of 11 and released a collaborative album with the Glorious Five, a group he and a couple of his church friends formed.
56 Facts About Wizkid
2.
In 2016, Wizkid achieved international recognition following his collaboration with Drake on the hit single "One Dance", which reached number-one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in 14 additional countries.
3.
Wizkid was born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun on 16 July 1990, in Surulere, Lagos.
4.
Wizkid grew up in an interfaith household with twelve female siblings.
5.
Wizkid's mother is a Pentecostal Christian and his father practices Islam.
6.
Wizkid grew up listening to King Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti and Bob Marley.
7.
Wizkid went by the stage name Lil Prinz until 2006.
8.
Wizkid later met OJB Jezreel, a record producer who prevented him from recording for a year.
9.
Wizkid was present during the recording sessions for Sound Sultan's debut album Jagbajantis.
10.
Wizkid cited Naeto C as one of the people who mentored and coached him when he was 15 years old.
11.
Wizkid inked a record deal with Empire Mates Entertainment in 2009.
12.
Wizkid later attended Lead City University, but dropped out after completing two sessions.
13.
Wizkid began recording his debut studio album Superstar in 2009.
14.
Wizkid released "Holla at Your Boy" as the album's lead single on 2 January 2010.
15.
On 12 June 2011, Wizkid hosted a launch party for the album at the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotel and Suites.
16.
Wizkid toured London in 2012 and performed at the HMV Apollo on 4 June 2012.
17.
On 12 November 2012, Wizkid performed at the BBC Radio 1Xtra Live 02 Academy in Brixton alongside Trey Songz, Tulisa, Kendrick Lamar and Angel.
18.
Between 2012 and 2014, Wizkid recorded his second studio album Ayo.
19.
On 6 September 2014, Wizkid revealed the album's cover art and track listing.
20.
Wizkid later announced that he would be releasing his second studio album on 12 June 2013.
21.
Wizkid gave an estimated time frame for the album's release.
22.
On 2 May 2013, Wizkid released the album's lead single "Jaiye Jaiye".
23.
Wizkid told Showtime Celebrity he collaborated with Femi Kuti to prevent people from depicting him as an artist whose lyrics revolve around girls, cars, and materialistic things.
24.
On 2 November 2013, Wizkid performed at the Guinness Colorful World of More concert alongside D'banj, Tiwa Savage, P-Square, Davido, Ice Prince, Burna Boy, Olamide and Phyno.
25.
In February 2014, Wizkid became the first Nigerian musician to have over one million followers on Twitter.
26.
In July 2014, Wizkid visited The Beat 99.9 FM studio in Lagos and told Toolz he had collaborated with Barbadian singer Rihanna.
27.
Wizkid was invited as a special guest for some shows on Tinie Tempah's tour of the UK in 2014.
28.
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.
29.
Wizkid first announced that he was working on a new album during a visit to London in October 2014.
30.
Wizkid revealed "African Bad Gyal" as his collaborative single with Chris Brown and said it would be the lead single from his third studio album.
31.
Wizkid released "Expensive Shit", an Afrobeats song built on light guitars, saxophone lines and acoustic percussion in May 2015; the song was reported as being a likely inclusion on the album.
32.
In July 2015, Wizkid announced on Twitter that Angelique Kidjo would be featured on the album.
33.
Wizkid made this announcement on Instagram shortly after the conclusion of 2Face Idibia's Fortified tribute concert.
34.
On 5 April 2016, Wizkid became Nigeria's first artist to be listed on Billboards Twitter Last 24 hours chart, following his guest feature on Drake's Afrobeats-infused "One Dance" single, which charted at number 21.
35.
Wizkid released his third studio album Sounds from the Other Side on 14 July 2017.
36.
Wizkid became the first Afrobeats artist to appear in the 2018 Guinness World Records for his contribution to "One Dance".
37.
In mid-2019, Wizkid was featured on Beyonce's "Brown Skin Girl", taken from the critically acclaimed The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack.
38.
On 17 September, Wizkid released the single "No Stress", and announced that he would be releasing his fourth album, Made in Lagos, on 15 October 2020.
39.
In September 2022, Wizkid headlined the Rolling Loud Toronto hip-hop festival, becoming the first African artist in history to achieve this feat.
40.
In 2012, Wizkid signed a one-year endorsement deal with Pepsi reportedly worth US$350,000.
41.
Wizkid travelled to Beirut, Lebanon, with Tiwa Savage for a Pepsi commercial shoot.
42.
On 28 May 2013, Premium Times reported that Wizkid had signed a one-year deal with MTN Nigeria.
43.
In November 2013, Wizkid signed an endorsement deal with Guinness for the Guinness World of More concert, held at the Eko Convention Centre of the Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos.
44.
In February 2013, Wizkid tweeted a subliminal message and tweaked his Twitter account.
45.
Wizkid revealed to Yvonne Ekwere of Silverbird Television that he planned on signing new acts to the label.
46.
Wizkid first signed Maleek Berry and Legendury Beatz to the label, while Berry became an in-house producer.
47.
In 2017, Billboard reported that Wizkid signed a multi-album worldwide record deal with RCA Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music.
48.
Wizkid broke his silence on the story during several interviews.
49.
In December 2012, Wizkid denied the baby scandal during an interview with Nonye Ben-Nwankwo of The Punch.
50.
Wizkid became engulfed in battles on Twitter with several artists, including his erstwhile boss Banky W and former label mate Skales.
51.
Wizkid cited Pharrell Williams as one of his fashion style icons.
52.
Wizkid is the most awarded African artist at the BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, Billboard Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards and MOBO Awards.
53.
Wizkid is a recipient of an ASCAP plaque for his songwriting contributions to Drake's "One Dance", which earned two Guinness World Records, for being the first song to reach a billion streams on Spotify, and at the time being the most streamed song on Spotify.
54.
Wizkid was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2019.
55.
Wizkid is the most awarded artiste in The Headies award history.
56.
Wizkid was nominated in the Best Global Music Album and the Best Global Music Performance categories in the 64th Annual Grammy Awards for Made in Lagos Deluxe Edition and "Essence" respectively.