#HappyBirthdayWizkid: Wizkid Is 26…. A Recap Of Starboy’s Rise To Stardom

Wizkid is a year older today and we are going down memory lane to look back on how he started and his achievements so far.
Born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun on 16 July 1990, Starboy’s rise to stardom began after the release of his song, Holla at Your Boy on 2 January 2010, at the age of 20.
The song was off his debut studio album, Superstar released on 12 June 2011 under the Empire Mates Entertainment record label and it contained tracks such as Tease Me/Bad Guys, Don’t Dull, Gidi Girl, Love My Baby, Pakurumo and Oluwa Lo Ni.
All the tracks on the album became instant hits, paving the way for greater things for Wizzy.

Wizkid is 26 today

That year his award nominations included, Holla At Your Boy for Headies Next Rated which he won and Headies Best Pop Single.
The music video for Holla At Your Boy was also nominated for Most Gifted Newcomer Video at the 2011 Channel O Music Video Awards and Afro Pop Video at the 2011 Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA).
In 2012, Wizkid’s Superstar album won Best Album of the Year at the 2012 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.

Chris Brown and Wizkid

His second studio album self-titled, Ayo, was released on September 17, 2014, three years after his sophomore work.
It’s nineteen track list included Jaiye Jaiye, On Top Your Matter, One Question, Joy, Bombay, In my bed, Ojuelegba, and Show You The Money
Through-out the year, all his songs and collaborations were all back to back hits.
Such as Girl with Bracket, Fine Lady with Lynxxx, Sexy Mama with Iyanya,  Slow Down with R2Bees, The Matter with Maleek Berry, Pull Over with KCee and Bad Girl with Jesse Jagz.
This positioned Starboy as the artist with the midas touch.

Wizkid and Justin Beiber

In September 2015, Starboy revealed through his Instagram that he would be postponing work on a third album but would focus on an Extended Playlist, EP, instead.
This announcement he made after attending 2Face Idibia’s “Fortified” tribute concert as he said, “I celebrated the legend 2face Idibia last night! Epic! It made me realize how much work I need to do.”
In an interview with Fader Magazine, he revealed the title of the EP as Sounds From the Other Side.
Read: “Stars Like Wizkid Still Suffer Visa Issues?” Wireless Festival Removes Starboy From Performers List

Wizkid and Kendrick Lamar

In 2013, Starboy ranked 5th on both Forbes and Channel O’s list of the Top 10 Richest and Bankable African Artists.
In February 2014, Wizkid became the first ever Nigerian musician to have over 1 million followers on Twitter.
This year, on April 5, 2016, Wizkid emerged as Nigeria’s first artist to get on Billboard’s Twitter Last 24 hours chart after he featured on Drake’s One Dance. 
The song reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and held the spot for weeks.
Read: Drake’s “One Dance” Featuring Wizkid And Kayla Tops Billboard’s Hottest Song Of Summer 2016

Wizkid, Tyrese Gibson, and Akon

At the age of 26, Wizkid’s achievements include, a BET Award, a MOBO Award, five The Headies Awards, two Channel O Music Video Awards, six Nigeria Entertainment Awards, two Ghana Music Awards, two Dynamix All Youth Awards, two City People Entertainment Awards, and a Future Award.
He has received three nominations at the MTV Europe Music Awards and has also been nominated four times at the World Music Awards.
Wizkid had the magic touch six years ago when he began his journey to stardom, and he still has it today as he celebrates his 26th birthday.

Wizkid has that magic touch

Read: VIDEO: BOJ Exposes Plot Against Wizkid In New Episode Of DA CHAT With Zinnia