Remembering Wizkid Before Starboy

It was the reputed writer and scholar, Chinua Achebe that made the profound statement that looking at a king’s mouth, one would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast. The same can be said of Wizkid. A look at his current regal precipice, one will think he had no humble beginnings — that he had it all good at the outset. A young boy that hails from one of the ghetto hubs of Lagos, Nigeria — Surulere. In his own words, “if you come from that part of society, you can only hope for a better life because it was the least dream possible”.

The massive breakthrough of his debut album was the solid ground he needed to cement his name on the sand of times and the mind of music lovers across the globe. His music in fact had traveled with no visa. Africa was not the only continent enjoying it. The entire world was caught up in the infectious rave.

“Superstar” was indeed a game changer with amazing showpieces such as “Holla At Your Boy”, “Don’t Dull”, “Love My Baby”, “Pakuromo”, “Tease Me/Bad Guy”. The album went on to form part of Africa’s evergreen masterpieces. Virtually all the song on the album released under his record label, EME at the time, were a hit, particularly for an album that had 17 tracks.

Copies of the album were sold in their thousands. His first tour in London in 2012 was the opening accreditation for the global acclaim he will come to have. In the same year, he performed at HMV Apollo and BBC Radio 1Xtra Live 02 Academy in Brixton. Within the very space, he alongside fellow E.M.E label mates toured the US, performing in renowned cities like New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Toronto, Dallas, Vancouver, Providence, Calgary, and Washington DC.

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