Wizkid@30:7 things you should know about the ‘Ojuelegba’ crooner

Nigerian pop star, Ayo Balogun a.k.a Wizkid is a year older today. Year in, year out, the revered singer has continued to influence the Nigerian music space with his timeless hit songs.

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In no particular order, TheNewsGuru takes a look at a few things to know about the entertainer.

1. Wizkid was born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun on July 16, 1990, in Surulere, Lagos. He grew up living with 12 sisters; his father, Alhaji M.O Balogun, who is Muslim and a Christian mum, Mrs. Balogun.

1. Wizkid wasn’t always known as Wizkid as he used to be called ‘Lil Prinz’ when he just started singing but changed the name in 2006. He went to Ijebu Ode Grammar School and then Lagos State University where he later dropped out.

1. His sojourn in the music industry started at 11 when he was part of a group, ‘Glorious Five’. By the time he was 15, Wizkid had already met OJB Jezreel who he followed closely and watched other big stars like 2Face, Sound Sultan and Naeto C.

1. Wizkid’s very first single is titled ‘Mami water’. He later signed to Banky W’s EME record label in 2009 which was the beginning his rise, he dropped his first studio album ‘Superstar’ in 2009 and released the hit song ‘Holla at your Boy’ in 2010

1. The album ‘Superstar,’ which was released in 2011 under Empire Mates Entertainment, took Wizkid to the length and breadth of the world. In 2014, he dropped the second album ‘Ayo,’ which had a host of music stars on its feature list. One song that stood out was ‘Jaiye Jaiye’ featuring the music icon, Femi Kuti.

1. Wizkid has worked with not just big music stars in the country but outside the shores of Nigeria including Drake and Chris Brown.

1. In 2016, Wizkid became the first Nigerian singer to make it to Billboard’s Twitter Last 24 hours chart following his guest feature with Drake on the hit single ‘One Dance’.