Early Life
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born July 16, 1990) is a Nigerian music superstar who is known professionally as Wizkid or Starboy .Wizkid was born on July 16, 1990, to Mr. Ibrahim Balogun (father) and Mrs. Jane Dolapo Balogun (mother). He was born into an interfaith family, with his father practicing Islam and his mother practicing Christianity. His parents gave him the name Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun.
He is a native of Ogun State in Nigeria’s South West area, and he hails from a huge family with twelve female siblings. He was reared in a polygamous home in Surulere City, Lagos State, in the Ojuelegba neighborhood. His father is married to three different women.
He spent his early years in Lagos City, where he was exposed to the rich Nigerian music tradition, which sparked his interest in the discipline. As a child, he went to church with his mother and siblings on a regular basis, and he became involved in activities related to his local church’s choral section.
Wizkid was born on July 16, 1990, into a polygamous household. His parents called him Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun after the Yoruba tribe. His father is a Muslim, while his mother is a Christian who attends a Pentecostal church in Nigeria.
He was born and raised in Surulere’s Ojuelegba neighborhood. Despite being born in Lagos, he is an Ogun State native. He grew up as the only son amid twelve sisters, all of whom were female. Mr. Balogun, his father, had three wives. The Baloguns lived in peace and harmony despite being a polygamous household. As a result, Wizkid was able to follow his musical goals without having to deal with family concerns.
Wizkid came from a wealthy family, which allowed him to attend top private institutions in Surulere for his basic and secondary studies.
He was accepted into Lagos State University but withdrew out in 2009. He eventually applied to Lead City University, Ibadan, and was accepted. He studied for two academic sessions before leaving the university to pursue music full-time.
The Baloguns made no compromises in providing their kid with a good education. Wizkid received his basic and secondary studies at top private institutions in Surulere.
He was admitted to Lagos State University after receiving his West African School Certificate. However, he dropped out of university after that.
He then enrolled at Lead City University in Ibadan to pursue his education. However, he departed the university after just two sessions.
Wizkid secured a record contract with Empire Mates Entertainment, which was owned and managed by Banky W, in 2009. He initially demonstrated his excellent songwriting ability when he co-wrote the tune, Omoge You Too Much, off Banky W’s album, The W Experience. That same year, he started recording his first album, Superstar, and released the project’s lead song, Holla At Your Boy, on January 2, 2010. The song became an immediate smash, propelling his career and earning him the prestigious Next Rated Artist award at The Headies in 2011.
Tease Me/Bad Guys, the album’s second single, was put into the public domain on April 2, 2010. While the project’s third song, Don’t Dull, was released as a Christmas jam on December 6, 2010. Superstar, a blend of Afrobeats, Dancehall, R&B, and Reggae sounds, was ultimately released on June 12th, 2011 during a premiere party hosted at Eko Hotel and Suites after two years of recording and preparing the album. The album received multiple nominations before winning Best Album Of The Year at the 2012 Nigerian Entertainment Awards.
Wizkid went on tour in London with Skales, Shaydee, Banky W, and Niyola after releasing his first flagship project. He also collaborated with his label mates to record E.M.E’s compilation album, Empire Mates State Of The Mind, which was published in 2012.
By 2012, Wizkid had began work on his second studio album, Ayo, which was finished and released in 2014. The album was a commercial success because to the contributions of creative minds like as Femi Kuti, Seyi Shay, Phyno, Tyga, Akon, Wale, Sarz, Shizzi, Legendury Beatz, Dokta Frabz, Maleek Berry, and Spellz. Jaiye Jaiye, the album’s first track, has been released earlier in May 2013. Femi Kuti, the Afrobeat icon, was a featured musician on the song.
In October 2013, he released On Top Your Matter, the album’s second single. Del B. is credited with producing this song. He quit E.M.E when his contract expired to become an independent artist, starting his own record company.
Wizkid released the song Ojuelegba at the start of the new year (January 2015), which talks about the early days of his career and the challenges he endured on his climb to the top. After securing a record contract with RCA Records in March 2017, he released his highly anticipated third album, Sounds From The Other Side, in July 2017. African Bad Gyal, Expensive Shit, Daddy Yo with Efya, Come Closer featuring Drake, and Sweet Love were among the album’s highlights.
Wizkid had a cameo appearance on Drake’s blockbuster track, One Dance, in 2016. The song helped him achieve further worldwide attention by reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 list for ten weeks in a row. The song also topped music charts in fifteen other nations. Because to his engagement with One Dance, he became the first Afrobeats musician to be included in the 2018 Guinness World Records.
In addition, Wizkid was approached by prominent international artists Normani and Calvin Harris in 2018 to collaborate. That same year, the foursome produced the massively successful track Checklist. As the song soared to the top of the Billboard World Digital Song Sales list. He was asked to collaborate on Beyoncé’s album, The Lion King: The Gift, in 2019. He appeared on the track Brown Skin Girl with SAINt JHN and Blue Ivy Carter, which went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Music Video in 2021.
In October 2021, he released his fourth studio album, Made In Lagos, which was a huge success globally, reaching number one on the Billboard World Album Chart. One of the project’s tracks, Essence, starring fellow Nigerian artist Tems, became the first Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also reached the top 10 with a remix featuring Justin Bieber. In February 2021, he was the most-streamed Nigerian artist of all time on Spotify, with over 3.4 billion listens throughout his history.
Wizkid started working on his first album, Superstar, after signing with E.M.E Records. Wizkid collaborated with notable producers including as Masterkraft, Samklef, Shizzi, Jay Sleek, and Q-Beats on the album, which is a blend of Afrobeats, R&B, and Reggae sounds.
In January of 2010, he released the project’s debut and lead single. The song Holla At Your Boy catapulted Wizkid into the national spotlight and made him a darling of many young Nigerians. Furthermore, the song is credited with helping him win the Next Rated Artiste title at The Headies 2011.
Tease Me/Bad Guys, Wizkid’s second song from the album, was released in April 2020. This song, like his first, was a commercial hit. And the single was followed by Don’t Dull, which became a dance jam and party tune throughout the December holiday season. Superstar was launched to critical praise on June 12, 2011, and its launch party was hosted at Eko Hotel and Suites. The album was nominated for Album Of The Year at The Headies 2012.
Wizkid collaborated with Shaydee, Niyola, Skales, and Banky W on the collaboration album Empire Mates State Of The Mind in 2012. Following the release of the record, he and other E.M.E performers toured the United States, playing in over two dozen cities.
After two years of hard effort in the studio, he released his second album, Ayo, which also fared well financially. The album’s first song, Jaiye Jaiye, was released on May 2, 2013. On the song, he collaborated with music legend Femi Kuti. On Top Your Matter, the album’s second single, was released on October 26, 2013. On the song, he once again worked with ace producer Del B.
He departed E.M.E Records when his five-year contract with the label expired. Instead, he opted to start his own music label, Starboy Entertainment. Prior to departing E.M.E, there were rumors that Wizkid was having disagreements with management over the conditions of his contract. And it was for this reason that he moved out of the E.M.E mansion into his own residence in February 2013. When he founded Starboy Entertainment, he signed musical acts Legendury Beatz and Maleek Berry to the company.
Wizkid released Ojuelegba in January 2015, a song about his early professional challenges. He became the first Nigerian artist to be ranked on Billboard Twitter’s Last 24 Hours chart after appearing on Drake’s hit, One Dance. By May, the song had hit the Billboard Hot 100 list, garnering Wizkid even more recognition. Furthermore, as a result of his participation to One Dance, he became the first Afrobeats musician to be included in the 2018 Guinness World Records.
In March 2017, he got a record contract with RCA Records, an international music company. Four months later, he released his third studio album, Sounds From The Other Side. Wizkid collaborated with prominent names including Drake, Chris Brown, Sarz, Spellz, Del B, Major Lazer, Ty Dolla Sign, Efya, and DJ Mustard on the album. Prior to the album’s release, he had three successful singles: Daddy Yo, Sweet Love, and Come Closer.
In 2019, he was called by American diva Beyonce and offered to collaborate on the album The Lion King: The Gift. As a consequence, he contributed vocals to the chart-topping song Brown Skin Girl. The song helped him win his first Grammy Award for Best Music Video. It also got him nominations for the BET Awards, NACCP Image Awards, and Soul Train Music Awards.
Wizkid’s fourth studio album, Made In Lagos, was released on October 30th, 2020. Essence, one of the album’s songs, became the first Nigerian song to rank on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2021. The record has also received millions of streams, putting him for more nominations. Because of the popularity of Essence, Justin Bieber approached Wizkid about working on a remix.
Wizkid, the legendary Nigerian musician, was previously signed by Banky W to Empire Mate Entertainment (EME) in 2009 and rocketed to stardom with “Holla At Your Boy,” a track off his Superstar Album. Due to contractual issues, he quit the company EME and founded his own record label, StarBoy.
Wizkid became the first Nigerian artist to reach one million Twitter followers in 2013.
He presently has over 13.1 million Instagram followers.
Instagram handle – @wizkidayo
Twitter handle – @wizkidayo
Wizkid is now 31 years old. Despite having three attractive boys, Boluwatife Balogun, Ayodeji Balogun, and Zion Balogun, he is said to remain unmarried. According to rumors, the singer is dating Jada Pollock, his manager and the mother of his third kid, Zion Balogun. In addition, several bloggers have speculated that he is dating Tems. Nonetheless, Wizkid adores his children and spends his leisure time with them when he is not in the studio or on tour.
Wizkid is an extremely successful performer, both financially and musically. He is now splitting his time between Lagos and Accra. Aside from a fleet of luxury automobiles, he also owns prestigious residences across the globe, as well as various business ventures.
He is also a music executive, having launched his own record label, Starboy Entertainment, in 2013, and signed musicians such as Maleek Berry and Legendury Beatz. Starboy Terri, a promising vocalist, is now signed to the label.
He is a Pepsi ambassador, having signed his first contract with the company in 2012. He has also signed brand collaboration agreements with MTN Nigeria, Guinness Nigeria Plc, and the United Bank Of Africa (UBA).
Mr. Sunday Are is presently his manager. Other nicknames for him include Starboy, Machala, Big Wiz, and Big W.
Wizkid is often regarded as one of Africa’s top three musicians. Burna Boy and Davido are the other two. He also has the largest fans in Nigeria, who call themselves Wizkid FC. Wizkid’s other monikers are Starboy, Big Wiz, and Big W.
The singer was born in Lagos and is 32 years old. He has three boys from separate women despite the fact that he has yet to marry. Boluwatife, his first kid, was born in 2011. At the time, he was just 21 years old. He loves his children and spends his leisure time travelling with them or bringing them to beautiful areas.
He is presently said to be dating his manager, Jada P, the mother of his third kid, Zion Balogun. Sunday Are is another of his managers. In 2018, he also announced the signing of Terri, a vocalist.
The artist, who is recognized for his unique dress sense, owns prime real estate all around the globe. He now divides his time between his homes in Lagos and Ghana.
Except for Jada Pollock, all three of the women described above are his baby moms and ex-girlfriends. Wizkid has previously dated Tonto Dikeh, Tiwa Savage, and Seyi Shay.
