Wizkid: how it all started

 Wizkid Biography

EARLY LIFE AND BACKGROUND:

 Wizkid was born on 16 July 1990 in Surulere, a residential and commercial area of Lagos. He comes from a large family and is the youngest of six children. In a 2012 interview with Tim Westwood, he said that his father has three wives. 

 CAREER AND LIFE:

 Wizkid started singing at age 11, releasing a 7 track album entitled Lil Prinz (2001). During an interview with Adesope of Factory 78 TV, Wizkid described his life in a nutshell. He said he formed a group called the Glorious Five with a couple of his church friends. The group dropped an album prior to dismembering. Wizkid later met OJB Jezreel, a record producer who prevented him from recording for a year. While visiting Jezreel's studio frequently, he watched 2 Face Idibia record Grass 2 Grace and watched Sound Sultan record Jagbajantis. A year later, Wizkid started recording. His first song featured OJB Jezreel. The song was met with great reception throughout Surulere. Wizkid cited Naeto C as one of the people who mentored and coached him while he was 15 years old. 

Wizkid has a great relationship with Banky W. He told Factory 78 TV that he and Banky became friends prior to starting a professional relationship. He co-wrote Banky W's "Omoge You Too Much", a song off the The W Experience album. In 2006, he collaborated with Naeto C and Ikechukwu. In 2009, Wizkid became a household name within Nigeria's musical landscape; he was featured on M.I's "Fast Money, Fast Cars" and Kel's "Turn by Turn".

 

On 2 May 2013, Wizkid and Starboy Entertainment released the album's lead single "Jaiye Jaiye" featuring Femi Kuti. Wizkid told Showtime Celebrity that he collaborated with Femi Kuti in order to prevent people from depicting him as an artist whose lyrics revolve around girls, cars and materialistic things."On Top Your Matter" was released as the album's second single on 26 October 2013; it was produced by Del B.[29] The music video for the single, which was released on 13 February 2014, was shot and directed in South Africa by Sesan. 

In July 2014, Wizkid visited The Beat 99.9 FM studio in Lagos and told Toolz that he collaborated with Barbadian singer Rihanna.
On 5 January 2015, Wizkid released the music video for "Ojuelegba", a song that highlights the struggles he endured in the early years of his recording career.

ENDORSEMENTS

 In 2012, Wizkid signed a one year endorsement deal with Pepsi allegedly worth 350,000 U.S dollars. He travelled to Beirut, Lebanon with Tiwa Savage for a Pepsi commercial shoot. On 28 May 2013, Premium Times reported that Wizkid signed a one year deal with MTN Nigeria. Moreover, the news source reported that Wizzy's Pepsi contract was renewed for another two years. On 23 October 2013, Bellanaija reported that Wizkid signed an endorsement deal with Guinness for the "Guinness World of More" concert. The concert was held at the Eko Convention Centre of the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos on 3 November 2013.