There are artists who make music. Then there is Wizkid — the boy from Ojuelegba who turned Lagos street sounds into a global language.
Born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun on 16 July 1990 in the Ojuelegba suburb of Surulere, Lagos, Wizkid began recording music at the age of 11. He never waited for the world to come to him. He went to the world instead. More than two decades later, the Starboy stands not merely as Nigeria’s greatest musical export, but as one of the most consequential artists of his generation — full stop.
The Architecture of a Legend
Wizkid gained recognition after releasing “Holla at Your Boy,” the lead single from his debut studio album, Superstar (2011). It made him a star at home. What followed was a masterclass in deliberate, patient, globe-minded ambition.
In 2016, he 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 15 countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France and Germany. The song held the number one position on the Hot 100 for 10 weeks. It also spent 15 weeks at number one on the UK Official Singles Chart. That wasn’t luck — it was the arrival of an artist who had been building toward that moment his entire life.
The Sound That Moved the World
In March 2017, Wizkid signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records. Three years later came the record that changed everything. In October 2020, he released Made in Lagos, which reached number one on the Billboard World Albums chart. The album’s single “Essence” featuring Tems became the first Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Global 200. With the Justin Bieber remix, it peaked at number nine on the Hot 100 — the highest any African act had charted on that list at the time. Since its release in 2020, Made in Lagos has appeared on the Billboard World Albums chart for six consecutive years — the first African album to achieve that feat.
Grammy-Certified
Wizkid, alongside Beyoncé and Blue Ivy, won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video for “Brown Skin Girl” at the 63rd Grammy Awards in 2021. It was his first Grammy. To date, he has received six Grammy nominations in total. For a genre that had long been overlooked by Western award institutions, it was a watershed moment — proof that Afrobeats was not a trend but a permanent force.
A Pioneer Who Keeps Moving
On July 29, 2023, Wizkid performed in front of a sold-out Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, becoming the first African artist to headline the iconic venue. It was also the moment he became the first African artist to receive the BRIT Billion award, recognising over one billion streams in the UK.
The milestones kept coming. He is the most awarded African artist in the history of the BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, Billboard Music Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards, NAACP Image Awards and MOBO Awards. Most recently, he won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Contemporary) for “Piece of My Heart,” his collaboration with Brent Faiyaz.
Durability Is the Real Flex
In 2025, despite not releasing an official solo single or album, Wizkid became the most-streamed Nigerian artist on Apple Music and Spotify, with 25 of his songs ranking among the Most Streamed Songs on Apple Music Nigeria. His album Morayo became the most-streamed album in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa on Apple Music — a full year after its release.
By January 2026, he became the first African artist to surpass 10 billion streams across all credits on Spotify. Catalogue strength like that is not manufactured. It is earned.
More Than Music
In 2021, Billboard stated that Wizkid “is the first African artist to truly make a major pop breakthrough in the United States and seems best poised to do so globally, too.”
He once said: “I’m an African. I ride for that… If the world can pay attention to one artist from Africa, why can’t they pay attention to all?” That question has since been answered. Because of Wizkid, the world now listens.
The Starboy isn’t just a chapter in music history. He is still writing it.
