Wizkid Biography and Networth 2022

Wizkid is generally considered one of Africa’s greatest showmen, as he is one of the major acts taking African music to the international scene. The Grammy award-winning Singer has established some records that might not be broken any time soon. Apart from being one of the most famous Nigerians of all time, he is also the richest and the highest-paid musical artist on the continent.  Here is a detailed biography of Wizkid including a detailed analysis of his Networth.

Bio Data

Wizkid Biography

Wizkid was born on July 16th of 1990 as Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun. He grew up in a large family with 12 siblings and was raised by a Muslim father and a Christian mother. He began to display interest in music at an early age, and some of his early influences were artists such as Bob Marley and King Sunny Ade.

As a church boy, Wizkid began singing at the age of 11, he formed a band called the Glorious Five with a couple of friends in church. They released a collaborative album in 2001, which reportedly sold ten thousand copies. The group however disbanded in the following year and the singer went by the stage name Lil Prinz.

In 2006, the singer met OJB Jezreel, a record producer who prevented him from recording for a year. While visiting OJB’s Point Beat Studios frequently, he watched 2 Face Idibia record songs for his Grass 2 Grace album. He was also present during the recording sessions for Sound Sultan’s debut album Jagbajantis. He cited Naeto C as one of the people who mentored and coached him.

The biography of Wizkid cannot be completed without noting how he sacrificed his education for his music career.  He attended Ijebu Ode Grammar School, for his secondary education, then proceeded to Lagos State University for his tertiary education but dropped out in  2009, to develop his music career. He later attended Lead City University, a private university in Ibadan, but dropped out after completing two sessions.

Music Career

Before going into a detailed analysis of Wizkid Networth, let’s take a peek into his journey as an Afrobeat artist. He began his professional music in 2009, after signing a record deal with Empire Mate Entertainment, a record label headed by Banky W, where he developed his craft by co-writing songs and working with established artists such as M.I,  Neato C and Ikechukwu.

He came to the limelight after he released “Holla at Your Boy”, the first lead single from his debut studio album, Superstar in 2011. The song was nominated for Best Pop Single and earned him the Next Rated award at The Headies 2011. He has since released four studio albums, one EP, fifty-three singles, forty-four promotional singles, sixteen guest appearances, six cameo appearances and thirty-three music videos.

Wizkid Studio Albums and EPs

• Superstar (2011)
• Empire Mates State of Mind (2012)
• Ayo (2014)
• Sounds from the Other Side (2017)
• Soundman Vol 1 (2019)
• Made in Lagos (2020)

Superstar (2011)

Superstar was released on June 12, 2011, and is generally considered one of the best debut albums in the history of Nigeria Music, selling over five million copies between 2011 & 2012. The album incorporates elements of Afrobeats, R&B, dancehall and reggae, it also contains other hit songs such as Tease me, Don’t dull, Pakurumo and many others. The album featured guest appearances from Banky W,  Skales, D’Prince and Wande Coal and won Best Album of the Year at the 2012 Nigeria Entertainment Awards, and was nominated for Album of the Year at The Headies 2012.

Empire Mates State of Mind (2012)

Empire Mates State of Mind is a compilation album by members of the Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E). It was released by the label on 18 June 2012, with Wizkid as one of the lead artists. The album contained hit songs such as Baddest Boy, Dance for Me, Get Down Tonight, Sun Mo Mi and many more.  It featured collaborations with X.O Senavoe, Rotimi and Basketmouth with production by Legendury Beatz, Sarz, Masterkraft, Cobhams Asuquo, Kid Konnect and Spellz.

Ayo (2014)

In September 2014, Wizkid released his second studio album titled Ayo, the album, had multiple guest appearances, like Femi Kuti, Banky W, Seyi Shay, Phyno, Tyga, Akon, and Wale. The album also featured the singer’s first global track and anthem “Ojuelegba.” marking his status as one of Nigeria’s biggest pop acts. it was also picked up and remixed by Drake and Skepta, thrusting Wizkid into the international spotlight.

Wizkid departed E.M.E following the release of “Ayo” his second studio album and the expiration of his five-year contract to establish his own Record Label, Starboy Entertainment in 2013. He signed Maleek Berry, Legendury Beatz and L.A.X to the label in the same year and announced the signings of Efya, R2Bees, and Mr Eazi in 2016.

In 2018, Wizkid signed Terri into Starboy Entertainment, he made the announcement via his Twitter account.

Sounds from the Other Side (2017)

In 2016, Wizkid rose to global prominence, after he appeared on Drake’s smash single “One Dance”, the song earned an appearance in the Guinness world record, his first Grammy nomination and his first platinum certification in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.

In March 2017, he signed a major deal with RCA and Sony International, which would release his third studio album titled, Sounds from the Other Side, later that year.

A primarily Caribbean-influenced album that featured guest appearances like Drake, Major Lazer, Chris Brown, Ty Dolla Sign, Efya, Bucie, and Trey Songz. Sounds from the Other Side was responsible for Wizkid’s first entry into the major international charts, including the Billboard 200 and UK Albums Chart.

Soundman Vol 1 (2019)

In 2019, Beyonce collaborated with Wizkid on “Brown Skin Girl”, taken from the critically acclaimed The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack. The song won the singer two Soul Train Music Awards, an NAACP Image Awards, a BET Awards, and his first Grammy Awards.

In the same year, the singer released his first EP titled Soundman Vol. 1, containing features from Chronixx, and a variety of other artists.  The project was a fusion of Afrobeats, reggae and R&B, it also served as a precursor to Wizkid’s fourth studio album Made in Lagos.

The project was recorded under an exclusive license to Starboy Entertainment. Its production was handled by Blaq Jerzee, Kel P, P2J and London.

Made in Lagos (2020)

On the 30th of October  2020, Wizkid released his fourth Studio album, Made in Lagos, which is presently the longest-charting,  best selling and most-streamed African album with over one billion streams under a year of release.

The album features guest appearances from Burna Boy, Skepta, H.E.R., Ella Mai, Tay Iwar, Projexx, Tems, Damian Marley, and Terri. The deluxe edition was released on 27 August 2021. It features additional guest appearances from Buju and Justin Bieber.

Within one week of release, Made in Lagos broke several African streaming records.  It charted in over 51 counties and became the first African album to debut on the Spotify Global Album chart. The album surpassed 100 million streams across five platforms nine days after release, a huge milestone for an African artist.

Wizkid Networth 2022

Wizkid Networth for 2022 is estimated to be around $25 Million, making him the richest musician in the country. He is also the highest-paid artist in the country as he reportedly takes a minimum of $200,000 per show. He also makes money from endorsements, album sales, and  royalties

Tours and stage Performance

Wizkid began to build up his Networth from the beginning of his career, making money from stage performances and tours.  His first tour Wizkid UK Takeover was in 2012, he performed in three different cities including Machester and London, where he performed at the HMV Apollo a 5,500 capacity Arena.

He also toured the United States the same year with his Empire Mate Entertainment Crew.  The tour kicked off in July and ended in September 2012. They performed in several cities, including Houston, Dallas, Toronto, Vancouver, New York City, Providence, Calgary, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Chicago.

The singer has been a major headliner one some of the major music festivals in the country and around the World, he has sold out stadiums in several countries on the African continent. On 12 November 2012, Wizkid was one of the headliners at the BBC Radio 1Xtra Live 02 Academy in Brixton. He performed alongside major acts like  Kendrick Lamar and Treysongs.

He is also the first African to sell out London’s most iconic venue, Royal Albert Hall as Headliner, joining musicians like Beatles, Adele, and Elton John. He sold out the venue in less than 72 hours and had a stellar performance.

The Singer was also the first Nigerian act to sell out the 02 Arena in 2018, he sold it out again in 2019 and held three days festival in 2021 where he reportedly raked in N5.2 Billion in gross earnings. His 2021 Made In Lagos Tour is the biggest African tour in the USA with 70,000+ attendees in 15 cities.

Wizkid Networth took a huge leap in 2022 after he was paid $1 Million to headline the 2022 Rolling Loud Concert In Toronto Canada, making him the highest-paid African artist in history. Prior to this historic feat, He was reportedly paid $681,200 to perform at a royal wedding at one of the world’s leading private residences, Umaid Bhawan in Jodhpur, India in 2018, making him one of the highest-paid artists in the world in the year 2018

Wizkid endorsement deals

Wizkid has built up his Networth with several endorsement deals across the globe, the singer is known as the face of some of the biggest brands in the world.

He got his first major endorsement deal in 2012 when he signed a one-year endorsement with Pepsi which was reportedly worth $350,000.  The following year, The singer also had an endorsement deal with MTN worth $345,000. He however ditched his endorsement deal with MTN and took up an N128 million deal with GLO in 2015.

Wizkid has been the face of several fashion brands such as Dolce and Gabbana, Nike,  Moschino, Puma, and Tommy Hilfiger, in Africa. He also has endorsements with beverage companies like Guniess, Ciroc and Hennesy.

The Singer signed an endorsement deal worth $3 million (the equivalent of 1 billion nairas at the time) with the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in 2019. He signed an undisclosed endorsement deal with Tecno in 2020 and Flutterwave in 2021 and a renewed $6 Million deal with Pepsi in 2022.

Songs, album Sales and royalties

Wizkid is one of the best selling and most certified Nigerian artists of all time. He has two out of the seven digital best selling Nigerian songs of all time, thereby contributing largely to his Networth as an individual

Essence, the fourth Single from his Made In Lagos album is the second best selling Nigerian song of all time. The song which is the first Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 has sold 2.495 million certified units worldwide.  It also earned  3 gold certifications from 3 different countries, a double-platinum certification in the United States and numerous awards including a nomination at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Global Music Performance. It was also ranked as the number one best song of 2021 by American magazine Rolling Stone.

“Come Closer” his 2017 song with Drake, has sold over 1 million units worldwide and has received Gold certifications in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. The song which was released as the third single from Wizkid’s third studio album, Sounds from the Other Side was Wizkid’s first charting single as a lead artist.

Wizkid Networth also grows as he gets royalties from his past songs and his contribution to several hits songs such as One Dance with drake, A song that has sold over 15 Million certified Units in the world, Beyonce’s Brown Skin Girl Metro Bommin’s Borrowed Love and many others.

It is very important to note that Wizkid is the Boss of Starboy Entertainment, a  record label he established l to give up-and-coming artists a platform to showcase their talent. This, in one way or the other, contributes to Wizkid Networth.

Awards and Nominations

Wizkid is no doubt the most decorated African act of all time, which in one way or the other will contribute to his Networth. The singer is a recipient of many notable international awards including the Grammy Awards, which he won in 2020 for his contribution to Beyoncé’s Brown Skin Gir”. The African Starboy was also nominated twice in the recently concluded edition of the Grammy award but lost Angelique Kidjo

He is however the most awarded African artist at the BET Awards, Soul Train Awards,  Billboard Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards and MOBO Awards. He is also a recipient of an ASCAP plaque for his songwriting contributions to Drake’s “One Dance”, which also earned two Guinness World Records, for being the first song to reach a billion streams on Spotify, and at the time being the most streamed song on Spotify.