Biography
Who is Wizkid?
Early life and real name
Wizkid was born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun on July 16, 1990, in the Ojuelegba suburb of Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria. He grew up in an interfaith household with twelve female siblings. His mother was a Pentecostal Christian, while his father practices Islam. During his youth, he attended Ijebu Ode Grammar School and listened to musicians like King Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti, and Bob Marley.
Early in his musical path, he formed a group called the Glorious Five with several of his church friends and used the stage name Lil Prinz until 2006. He later frequented OJB's Point Beat Studios, where he observed artists record their projects and received mentorship from Naeto C. He briefly attended Lagos State University and Lead City University before focusing fully on his music career.
How Wizkid became famous
Wizkid signed a record deal with Banky W's Empire Mates Entertainment in 2009 and began working on his debut studio album, Superstar. He gained widespread recognition after releasing the lead single 'Holla at Your Boy' in January 2010. The track earned him the Next Rated award at The Headies 2011 and helped establish him as a prominent voice in the emerging Afrobeats movement.
His debut album Superstar was released in June 2011 by Empire Mates Entertainment and included other popular singles like 'Tease Me/Bad Guys' and 'Don't Dull'. The project featured collaborations with various producers and guest artists, earning praise and awards at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards.
Career highlights
Following his early success, Wizkid released his second studio album, Ayo, in September 2014, supported by singles such as 'Jaiye Jaiye' and 'On Top Your Matter'. He achieved major international recognition in 2016 after collaborating with Drake on the hit single 'One Dance', which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped charts in numerous other countries. This achievement made him the first Afrobeats artist to appear in the Guinness World Records.
He later signed with RCA Records and released his third studio album, Sounds from the Other Side, in 2017. In 2019, he collaborated on the track 'Brown Skin Girl' for Beyoncé's project The Lion King: The Gift, which won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video. His fourth album, Made in Lagos, featured the hit single 'Essence' featuring Tems, becoming the first Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. He subsequently released his fifth album, More Love, Less Ego, in 2022 and his sixth album, Morayo, in 2024.
Birthday and age
Wizkid was born on July 16, 1990, which makes Wizkid 36 years old today. That birthday falls under the Cancer sign. Wizkid shares the date with 32 other famous people.
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