Wizkid (musician)

Nigerian singer

This article is about the Nigerian recording artiste


Background informationBirth nameAyodeji Ibrahim BalogunAlso known asLil PrinzBorn16 July 1990 (age 26)
Surulere, Lagos, Lagos State, NigeriaGenres

Afrobeat afropop reggae

Occupation(s)

Recording artist songwriter performer

Years active2001–present[1]Labels

RCA Starboy Entertainment Disturbing London[2] E.M.E (former)

Associated acts

Drake Maleek Berry Legendury Beatz L.A.X Banky W. Skales Shaydee Niyola Wale Wande Coal Ice Prince R2Bees M.I Jesse Jagz Runtown May D

Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990),better known by his stage nameWizkid (sometimes stylised as WizKid), is a Nigerian recording artist, songwriter and performer. He started recording music at age 11 and managed to release a collaborative album with the Glorious Five, a group he and a couple of his church friends formed. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Banky W.'s record label Empire Mates Entertainment(E.M.E). He rose to prominence in 2010 with the release of the song "Holla at Your Boy" from his debut studio album, Superstar(2011). "Tease Me/Bad Guys", "Don't Dull", "Love My Baby", "Pakurumo" and "Oluwa Lo Ni" were also released as singles from theSuperstar album. Wizkid's self-titled second studio album, Ayo, was released in September 2014 and was preceded by six singles: "Jaiye Jaiye", "On Top Your Matter", "One Question", "Joy", "Bombay" and "Show You the Money". Following the release of his second studio album and expiration of his 5-year recording contract, Wizkid left E.M.E. In September 2016, several media outlets reported that Wizkid signed a seven-figure deal with Sony'sRCA Records.The chairman and CEO of RCA Records, Peter Edge, confirmed the signing while speaking to Music Business Worldwide in January 2017.

In addition to his solo work, Wizkid has collaborated with several artists and was featured on the hits "Girl" (with Bracket), "Fine Lady" (with Lynxxx), "Sexy Mama" (withIyanya), "Slow Down" (with R2Bees), "The Matter" (with Maleek Berry), "Pull Over" (withKCee) and "Bad Girl" (with Jesse Jagz). In 2016, Wizkid achieved international recognition following his collaboration with Canadian hip-hop artist Drake on his global hit, "One Dance", which reached number one in 15 countries, including the United States,United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

He was ranked 5th on Forbes and Channel O's 2013 list of the Top 10 Richest/Bankable African Artists. In February 2014, Wizkid became the first ever Nigerian musician to have over 1 million followers on Twitter.