Wizkid Artist Profile

Full Name: Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun
Born: July 16, 1990, Ojuelegba, Surulere, Lagos
Early Stage Name: Lil Prinz
Genres: Afrobeats, Afropop, R&B, Reggae fusion
Labels: Empire Mates Entertainment (2009–2014), Starboy Entertainment (founder), RCA Records

From Glorious Five to Lil Prinz

Wizkid was raised in a large, interfaith, polygamous household in Ojuelegba, Surulere — the only male child among twelve female siblings. He started recording at age 11, forming a group called the Glorious Five with friends from church and releasing a seven-track collaborative album before the group disbanded. He performed under the name Lil Prinz until 2006. King Sunny Adé, Fela Kuti and Bob Marley shaped his early sonic awareness, an influence still audible in his rhythmic patience and melodic restraint decades later.

His real industry education came through veteran producer OJB Jezreel, who took him on after securing permission from his parents. Wizkid spent his teenage years at OJB's studio watching established artists like 2Face Idibia and Sound Sultan record, absorbing the process before he had the platform to apply it himself. Rapper Naeto C also mentored him during this period.

Holla at Your Boy

Banky W signed him to Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E.) in 2009 — the turning point. Wizkid's first credited industry work was co-writing Omoge You Too Much for Banky W's own album, and contributing the hook on M.I's Fast Money Fast Cars from his 2009 debut album Talk About It. On January 2, 2010, Wizkid released Holla at Your Boy as the lead single from his debut album Superstar, which followed in 2011. The single won Next Rated at The Headies 2011 and was nominated for Best Pop Single. Superstar — a fusion of Afrobeats, dancehall, R&B and reggae — also produced Tease Me/Bad Guys and Don't Dull, and the album's success was marked with an E.M.E. label tour in London.

Leaving E.M.E. and Founding Starboy

After his contract with E.M.E. ended, Wizkid departed to found his own label, Starboy Entertainment. His second album, Ayo, released September 17, 2014, included six hit singles, among them Jaiye Jaiye. The Starboy era marked a deliberate shift toward greater creative control — and set up the global expansion that followed.

One Dance and the Global Turn

In 2016, Wizkid's feature on Drake's One Dance became the defining moment of his international career. The song hit number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped charts in 14 other countries, crossing a billion streams and making Wizkid the first Afrobeats artist mentioned in the Guinness World Records. It wasn't a guest appearance in someone else's global pop moment — it made him a genuine contributor to where that pop moment went next.

Made In Lagos and Essence

Wizkid's fourth studio album, Made in Lagos, released October 2020, became the project that elevated him from star to legend — smooth, intentional, built on mature storytelling rather than loud commercial formulas. Its single Essence, featuring Tems, became the first Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, earned a Grammy nomination, broke US radio barriers previously closed to Afrobeats, and was remixed by Justin Bieber. Many critics have since called it the song that globalised Afrobeats.

🔗 Also Read

Wizkid – Kese (Dance) | Morayo Album

Morayo and the Present

Wizkid's sixth studio album, Morayo, released November 22, 2024 and dedicated to his late mother, became Nigeria's most-streamed album of 2025, with Kese (Dance) becoming his longest-running number one as a lead artist and the album occupying the entire top 17 spots on Apple Music Nigeria on release day. In 2026 he released the joint EP REAL Vol. 1 with Asake, including the singles Jogodo and Turbulence, both already covered on this blog — confirmation that even with a catalogue this extensive, he's still actively shaping where Nigerian music's biggest collaborations happen.

Style and Influence

Wizkid's musical signature is restraint — hypnotic rhythms, minimalist production, layered melodies, vocals that float rather than shout. That sonic patience has made his catalogue age unusually well, and the current generation of Afrobeats artists working in melodic, understated registers owe a clear debt to the template he set. Beyond music, he's accumulated a Grammy Award, multiple Grammy nominations, BET Awards, MOBO Awards and Billboard recognitions, but the more lasting impact is structural: African artists collaborating with global superstars stopped being a novelty and became an expectation, in large part because Wizkid did it first and did it repeatedly.

▶ Listen on Apple Music