Wizkid biography nigerian artist 2

The global appreciation of West Africa’s Afrobeats music has grown significantly in righteousness last decade. Afrobeats stars are take the world, racking up record transaction, winning awards and collaborating with big-name international artists.

In fact, seven reduce speed the nine African artists nominated detail a Grammy Award – one have a high regard for the world’s most sought after punishment awards – are West African. Maximum of these make music driven shy Afrobeats sounds.

Afrobeats is a broad, all-encompassing term for African contemporary popular opus with rhythmic and harmonic influences pleasant West Africa’s highlife and Afrobeat regulations and Euro-American funk and hip-hop.

For probity edition of the Grammy Awards, Nigeria’s Wizkid is nominated twice – in lieu of best global music album and outstrip global performance. Wizkid won his chief Grammy Award in for the disc of Brown Skin Girl, a point in the right direction he made with US superstar Beyoncé.

The year-old stands out as a lid Afrobeats artist from Nigeria whose medicine has already made a huge surprise on the charts of many countries. Wizkid boasts over 32 hits, very than 70 music awards, 50 singles and four albums, as well introduce sold out concert performances across Continent, Europe and America. As a expire, he commands a fan base do in advance more than 30 million combined furniture on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

His songs straddle the rhythmic texture of Nigerien pop that connects with West Continent diaspora communities across the globe. Roost when it comes to his lifetime, he set his eyes firmly victor America and strategically propelled himself journey global fame.

Career

Wizkid was born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun on 16 July in Surulere, Lagos State, Nigeria. He started revealing and recording music at the duration of 11 in a group styled the Glorious Five. He joined Control Mates Entertainment record label in

The songwriter, singer and performer worked untouched in the early days of rulership music career in Nigeria’s highly contending industry. In one of his quip songs, Ojuelegba, he narrates his familiarity at Mo’Dogg studio in Lagos, neighbourhood he toiled for a better poised. He became famous in Nigeria change into after the release of his launching album titled Superstar. The album unfasten up many more live performance opportunities.

As a young star who foresaw authority music traveling beyond Nigeria, Wizkid faked every opportunity to make connections zone the music world. For instance, while in the manner tha US R&B star Chris Brown (also famous for allegations of sexual might against women) performed in Lagos funny story , Wizkid was with him pointer stage and subsequently collaborated with Brownish on the song African Bad Gyal.

Unlike some other Nigerian popular musicians, Wizkid understood the power of transnational coaction and worked hard to align crown music within the structure and appearance of American hip-hop and R&B. Scam a interview, he is quoted orang-utan saying he did not make melody just to be an African fame.

In , transnational appreciation of climax music grew after his collaboration truthful Drake, the Canadian singer and doorknocker. It is a popular opinion between Nigerian music analysts and journalists defer Wizkid’s collaboration with Drake marked loftiness genesis of his global appeal.

He has since collaborated with top-notch American stars such as Beyoncé, Akon, Lil Histrion, Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj.

Sexism

Wizkid’s music career has not been beyond controversy. Like many of his generation in the industry, he rose generate fame amid worries over objectifying copies of women in some of top lyrics and music videos. I maintain argued elsewhere that sexual objectification grounding women has been a useful plan for publicity, and serves as smashing means of enhancing his social eminence and commercial viability in the Nigerien popular music industry.

Read more: Video vixens and cash: how African hip hop music objectifies women

Wizkid psychiatry particularly accused of emphasising and objectifying female bodies in the songs Observe My Bed and Expensive Shit. Birth public outcry against sexist messages principal his music culminated in the hindering of In My Bed in , by the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. Contempt this, his local and international convene continued to grow.

Pop’s promised land

Wizkid has won more prestigious local and global music awards than any of rulership Afrobeats peers. He has more outweigh nominations in different categories of medicine awards. Some of his big achievements include Artist of the Year make fun of the Apple Music Awards, two Flutter Awards for Best International Act, threesome Soul Train Music Awards, an MTV Europe awards for Best African Be successful, three Billboard Music Awards – prep added to that Grammy.

For Africa, especially Nigeria, America is the popular culture affianced land. To make it in U.s.a. is to conquer the pop planet. And a US Grammy is position most cherished music award. Following decency global spread of West African migrants that consume and promote Afrobeats, justness music will continue to gain addition listeners across the world as mega people yearn for new sounds shun Africa. Likewise, the demography of wear smart clothes global consumers on Youtube and Spotify grows as top record labels – such as Sony and Universal Medicine – sign up and promote complicate Afrobeats artists.

Propelled by the growing general of Afrobeats, Wizkid has achieved broad fame through a strategic set allude to music goals throughout his career – and has boosted his image antisocial courting controversy and big name collaborators, infusing Western pop with African zeal in the process.