Wizkid
Sign in to saveAlso known as Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, Lil Prinz, Starboy, Big Wiz, Machala
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (; born 16 July 1990), better known as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Born in the Ojuelegba suburb of Surulere, Lagos, Wizkid is a voice in the emerging Afrobeats movement. His music is a blend of Afrobeats, afropop, R&B, afrobeat, reggae, dancehall, and pop. He began recording music at the age of 11 and released a collaborative album with the Glorious Five, a group he and a few of his church friends formed. In 2009, Wizkid signed a record deal with Banky W's Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E). He gained recognition after releasing a hit called "Holla at Y
OverviewAI-generated
Wizkid, born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun in 1990, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and musician. A member of the Yoruba people, he was born in Lagos and holds Nigerian citizenship. He speaks English, Nigerian Pidgin, and his native language, Yoruba. His musical genres include Afrobeats, dancehall, and rhythm and blues. He began his work period in 2001 and performs using his voice.
He is educated at Lagos State University and is signed to RCA Records. His religious worldview is Catholicism. He has three children. His notable awards include the Billboard Music Awards, MOBO Awards, Soul Train Music Awards, and NAACP Image Awards. His net worth is listed as 50,000,000. He is also known by the name Ayo.
Synthesized by Vinony from 31 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, Firecrawl. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 611,188
- Total plays
- 14,869,942
Tags
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), known professionally as Wizkid (sometimes stylized as WizKid), Wizzy, Big Wiz or Starboy, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter.[3] The recipient of received several international music award nominations and awards,[4] he began recording music at the age of 11 and managed to release a collaborative album with the Glorious Five, a group he and a couple of his church friends formed. Wizkid signed a record deal with Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E) in 20
via Last.fm · Wizkid
Key facts
- Person.name
- Wizkid
- Person.image
- Wizkid in Canex - Algiers 2025 (cropped).jpg
- Person.caption
- Wizkid performing at Canex in Algiers in 2025
- Person.birth_name
- Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun
- Person.birth_place
- Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria
- Person.years_active
- 2001–present
- Person.notable_works
- Discography
- Person.awards
- Full list
- Musical artist.origin
- Lagos, Nigeria
- Musical artist.embed
- yes
- Musical artist.instruments
- Vocals
via Wikipedia infobox
Official website
Link to the official site · 3,569 chars · not written by Vinony
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Nigeria
- Place of birth
- Lagos
- Sibling
- 12
- Occupation
- musician
- Educated at
- Lagos State University
- Languages spoken
- Nigerian Pidgin
- Native language
- Yoruba
- Religion
- Catholicism
- Instrument
- voice
- Official website
- www.wizkidofficial.com
- Image
- Wizkid in Canex - Algiers 2025.jpg
- Height
- 5
- Number of children
- 3
Show 9 more facts
- date of birth
- 1990-07-16
- ethnic group
- Yoruba people
- Commons category
- Wizkid (musician)
- start of work period
- 2001-00-00
- birth name
- Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun
- net worth
- 50000000
- social media followers
- 11575951
- name in native language
- Ayo
- tribe
- Yoruba
Sources (15)
via Wikidata · CC0
~25 min read
Encyclopedic overview
24 sectionsContents
- Life and music career
- 1990–2010: Early life and career beginnings
- 2010–2011: ''Superstar''
- 2012–2014: E.M.E tour, ''Ayo'' and other recordings
- 2015–2018: ''Sounds from the Other Side'' and the international success with "One Dance"
- 2019–2023: "Brown Skin Girl", ''Made in Lagos'' and international collaborations
- 2024–present: ''Morayo'' and new record projects
- Endorsements
- Record label and contract
- Empire Mates Entertainment
- Starboy Entertainment
- Sony Music/RCA
- Personal life
- Fatherhood controversy
- Feuds
- Fashion style
- Legacy
- Awards and nominations
- Discography
- Filmography
- Tours
- Notes
- References
- External links
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (; born 16 July 1990), better known as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Born in the Ojuelegba suburb of Surulere, Lagos, Wizkid is a voice in the emerging Afrobeats movement. His music is a blend of Afrobeats, afropop, R&B, afrobeat, reggae, dancehall, and pop. He began recording music at the age of 11 and released a collaborative album with the Glorious Five, a group he and a few of his church friends formed. In 2009, Wizkid signed a record deal with Banky W's Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E). He gained recognition after releasing a hit called "Holla at Your Boy", the lead single from his debut studio album, Superstar (2011), which also spawned the singles "Tease Me/Bad Guys" and "Don't Dull".
On 17 September 2014, he released the self-titled second studio album, Ayo, which was supported by six singles, including "Jaiye Jaiye". Wizkid left E.M.E. after his contract expired. 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 14 additional countries. The song broke multiple records, making Wizkid the first Afrobeats artist to appear in the Guinness World Records. In March 2017, he signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records and released his third studio album, Sounds from the Other Side, later that year. The album was supported by five singles, including "Come Closer" featuring Drake.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Wizkid” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.