SOURCE: Amala
Born Ibrahim Ayodeji Balogun, Wizkid has quite carved a niche for himself in the entertainment industry. Both in the local and international scene, we see the songster win laurels and ace insurmountable conquests. It is fulfilling to recall that Wizkid has clinched 3 Billboard Music Awards and has topped charts in 15 countries.
[Aside]: We thought to give statistical highlights from the international space.
The 29-year-old has defied the odds and has risen to become one of the best musical exports from the African continent.
Achievements and Feats
We recall, how in 2016; the most-streamed song on Spotify featured our favourite boy. The international hit; ‘One Dance’, successfully edged out Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber’s tracks that year. Again, Wizkid also snagged what The Recording Academy; GRAMMY, refers to as “the biggest record deal ever for an African artist”.
Fast forward to 2019, Wizkid bagged a mega-millionaire ambassadorial deal with UBA. This is arguably the biggest any celebrity could have snagged in the whole of Africa. That’s right, it’s worth your awe. Did we forget to mention Wizkid also walked the runway for Dolce and Gabanna in Milan? This, makes him the first African to have clinched this feat. He strutted at the fashion shown alongside English model; Naomi Campbell, and Tinie Tempah.
All of these and more, have contributed to his fans declaring every 4 February as #WorldWizkidDay. This is the first of three ‘national’ days acknowledged to the superstar. On 16 July, of course, we’ll have the internet buzzing with love and solidarity for the songster since it’s his birthday. Now that’s 2 of 3.
On 6 October, #WorldWizkidDay is also celebrated in the US. The Governor of Minnesota; Mark Dayton, in 2018, declared this day in honour of Wizkid. The proclamation succeeds his success as the first African artist to sell out the Skyway Theatre in Minnesota. Might we also recall that Wizkid also became the first African artist to sell out the legendary 02 theatre in London? Isn’t he awesome!
One more shocking revelation: We recall how Wizkid collaborated with Nike on his StarBoy Jersey in 2018. Although reports hold that he’s the first African artist to have tolled this path, here’s what we find both stupefying and jawbreaking: Oh, you guessed right. It was sold out in 10 minutes after Nike launched!
Wrapping it up…
Wizkid continues to make his fans proud, and the loyalty on their end, however, is overwhelming. Like Nike rightly observes, to label Wizkid simply as a Nigerian pop-star contradicts his global influence.
Cheers to the StarBoy Movement!
The post #WorldWizkidDay: All You Need To Know appeared first on Amala.
