Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (aka Wizkid) officially began his career when he signed to Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E.) in 2009. In 2011, his Superstar debut album was met with much love and critical acclaim across the continent. His second album, Ayo, made Rolling Stones’ 15 great albums you didn’t hear in 2014. It was also the start of his launch into an international career with Nigerian-British rapper Skepta appearing on the remix of the hit, Ojuelegba.
At the 2011 Headies, Wizkid won the ‘Next Rated’ award, signalling his first of many national and international awards. His collaboration with Drake on the 2016 summer anthem One Dance earned Wizkid a staggering seven nominations at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, of which he won three. The song also reached number 1 in 15 countries.
At the 2019 All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), he also won the ‘Song of the Year’ award for his hit song Fever. So far, he has been nominated for the MTV European Music Award five times.
In 2014, he left the E.M.E. to establish Starboy Records (now Starboy Entertainment Worldwide), where he signed various acts like L.A.X., Mr Eazi, Efya, and R2bees.
Wizkid released Sound From The Other Side in 2017. The album won the Best R&B/Pop Album award at the Headies and was also nominated for Album of the Year.
In 2019, he released an E.P. titled Soundman Vol 1, which enjoyed relative success. However, the following year was a significant boost for Wizkid and his fans, who have been anticipating the release of another album from the superstar. The release of his much-anticipated album titled Welcome to Lagos in 2020 threw his fans, dubbed Wizkid FC, into a frenzy. His collaboration with Beyonce for the hit song Brown Skin Girl earned him the Soul Train Music Award for The Ashford & Simpsons Songwriter’s Award and the BET HER Award. The music video of the song also earned him a Grammy award the following year.
Riding on his success as the winner of the Net Honours Class of 2020 Most Searched Musician, Wizkid bettered it in 2021 by topping two categories: The Most Popular Musician – Male and the, Most Played Song – R&B for Smile ft HER.
Written by Omotayo Yusuf
