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30 things you should know about Wizkid on his 30th birthday

Here are 30 things you should know about Wizkid as he turns 30.
Wizkid [Instagram/WizkidDayo]
Wizkid [Instagram/WizkidDayo]

Nigeria's music star, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun popularly known as Wizkid turns 30, today, Thursday, July 16, 2020.

As part of the activities to mark his 30th birthday, we will be sharing with you guys 30 things you should know about him.

For the die-hard members of Wizkid FC, every information here is already on their dairy but those who don't know much about the celebrity, get a note pad as we share with you personal details of the music star.

1. Wizkid was born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun on July 16, 1990, in Surulere, Lagos.

2. Wizkid grew up living with 12 sisters, a father, Alhaji M.O Balogun, who is Muslim and a Christian mum, Mrs. Balogun.

3. 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. 

4. The Starboy boss went to Ijebu Ode Grammar School and then Lagos State University where he later dropped out. He tried going back to school after gaining admission into Lead City University but didn't finish.

5. His sojourn in the music industry started at the age of 11-years-old 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 Neato C.

6. Wizkid's very first single is titled 'Mami water.' We don't think you knew that!

7. Wizkid later signed to Banky W's EME record label in 2009 which was the beginning of the rise of the star we all now know. 

8. The release of his first single under EME gave him his first Headies awards as the 'Next Rated,' and numerous other awards followed.

9. The album 'Superstar', which was released in 2011 under Empire Mates Entertainment, took Wizkid to the length and breadth of the world as everyone couldn't get enough of the latest superstar in the room who wasn't even 20 yet!

10. Another album had to drop as fans couldn't get enough of Wizkid, so by 2014, he dropped the second album 'Ayo,' which had a host of music stars on its feature list.

11. 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.'

12. When it comes to endorsement deals, Wizkid has made a lot of money from a number of them. From Pepsi to MTN and even Glo, the music star has cashed out hugely from these telcos and multinationals. 

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

14. Wizkid has three albums to his credit; Superstar (2011), Ayo (2014) and Sounds from the Other Side (2017).

15. He also has a compilation album with EME; Empire Mates State of Mind which was released in 2012.

16. When it comes to his personal life, Wizkid also has a very interesting story. Just in case you don't know, he is a father to three sons.

17. Wizkid welcomed his first son, Boluwatife in 2011 at the age of 21 with his then-girlfriend turned baby mama, Shola Ogudugu.

18. In 2016, Wizkid welcomed his second son, Ayodeji with his second baby mama, Binta Diallo.

19. Well just when we all thought Wizzy Baby was done with kids, the news broke of the arrival of his third son, Zion with his manager, Jade Pollock.

Not many saw this coming but these guys were romantically linked when we thought it was just a business relationship.

20. Success has been Wizkid's second name since he joined the music industry and we've been there to monitor and break the news of every milestone he has undertaken.

Like the time he sold out a 20,000 O2 Arena for his concert in 2018 in the United Kingdom. Another event which made Wizkid solidify his position on this list was his sold-out concert the 'Royal Albert Hall' in London.

21. Just so you know, there is a day set aside in Minnesota for Wizkid because the last time he performed there, he had a sold-out concert at the Skyway Theater.

22. Wizkid's brand took another bold step in 2018 as his Nike jersey was created and it was sold out immediately it got to the market. Wizkid like a lot of very influential celebrities has his clothing line...only superstars do this!

23. How can we forget his hit song ‘Fever’ where he featured Tiwa Savage on its video. That song had so much buzz, it trended on social media for days. In just a few hours after it’s release, it had over 1 million views!

24. Wizkid's success story took to another dimension in 2018 when he hit the runway with fashion icon and model, Naomi Campbell for Dolce and Gabbana and the Internet went into a frenzy.

25. In 2018, one of Wizkid's hit singles, 'Soco' became the most searched words on Google for the year.

26. "One Dance" his previous collaboration with Drake became the most streamed song on Spotify globally with over 1.1 billion streams which became a Guinness World Record.

27. In 2019, Wizkid featured in Beyonce's 'Lion King' album which is a collection of music inspired by the 2019 remake of the classic Disney movie 'Lion King.'

Wizkid is featured on a song titled, 'Brown Skin Girl,' alongside Beyonce's first child, Blue Ivy Carter, Beyonce, and Saint Jhn.

28 During the 2019 Soul Train Awards, Wizkid won the Ashford and Sampson Songwriters' Award for his collaboration with Beyonce in 'Brown Skin Girl.'

29. In 2017, he won the MOBO awards for "Best International Act". His victory at the MOBOs saw him receive congratulatory messages from President Buhari, VP Osinbajo, and former VP Atiku Abubakar. In November 2017, he won 3 awards at the AFRIMA awards held in Lagos.

30. At the time of this publication, Wizkid is the fourth most followed Nigerian celebrity on Instagram with about 10. 9 million followers.

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