Nigerian Pop Star Wizkid Enjoys Record-Breaking Year

Nigerian pop star Wizkid is having a year for the record books. He has won prestigious awards all over the world and secured chart topping collaborations with internationally acclaimed artists, such as U.S. artists Drake and Chris Brown. On Saturday, the 26-year-old capped off an incredible 2016  by winning Artist of the Year, Best Male  Musician, and Top Collaboration of the Year at the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“I want to say a big thank you to God, my fans, and my family, Sunday Are, Jada, Famo, [and] R2Bees. Team Wizkid, this is for you,” he said in his acceptance speech.

Top of the World

Wizkid has undeniably been a force to reckon with this year, both in Africa and abroad.

The young musician has been exporting the African sound across international frontiers, including a record-breaking “One Dance” collaboration with singer/rapper Drake, which saw him become the first Nigerian artist to appear on the Billboard charts.

In his acceptance speech at the 17^th Ghana Music Awards in May, where he won the African Artist of the Year Award, he announced that he would be signing Ghanaian rappers R2Bees to his record label, Starboy.

He also confirmed that he was in the process of signing other top Ghanaian artists, including Efya and Mr. Eazi.

Watch his latest collaboration with the Ghanaian duo R2Bees:

Humble Beginnings

Born in 1990 in Surulere, Lagos, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun a.k.a. Wizkid started his music career at the age of 11 years old. His first album, Lil Prinz, was released in 2001 in collaboration with Glorious Five.

In 2009, he signed a record deal with Empire Mates Entertainment, where he released his first hit song “Holla at Your Boy” off the album Superstar.

Other hit singles by Wizkid include “Ojuelegba,” “On Top of Your Matter,” “Show Your Money,” and “Oluwa Lo Ni,” among many others.

In 2013, the young singer started his own record label, Starboy Entertainment, to give young and upcoming artists a platform to showcase their talent.

In August, Wizkid revealed that he’s hard at work on a new album titled, Sounds From the Other Side.