I have always heard people argue about who is a legend in a field and who is not. The conversation is not restricted to a particular field or walk of life.some people will tell you Ronaldo is a legendary footballer in making and Messi is not, while others will tell you it’s the other way round. But compared to the legendary Pele, what does these three great footballers have in common to be ascribed this sacred title? Achievements! What makes anyone a legend in their field is their achievement, their impact and their uniqueness. Think 2pac, think Michael Jackson, think Fela, in football think Pele, what comes to your mind? Their greatness! what they have achieved, their impact in their fields; these are what made them legends. Considering all these can we say Nigeria own superstar Ayo Balogun popularly known as Wizkid has achieved enough to be on the path of ‘legendhood’ or is he just an artiste in his prime riding the wave of his fame?
Wizkid started music at a young age of 11 but he got his big break at the age 19 when he signed under Banky w’s EME in 2009, he followed this with his debut album ‘Superstar’ and rose to prominence with his hit song ‘Holla at your boy’ topping different charts in the country, and consequently wining him the next rated award at the 2011 Headies award, and it has been up from then for the afro pop act. Many people will tell you Wande Coal ‘Mushin to Mohit’ album created a distinct style for afro pop in Nigeria, which is been followed till today, but the fact is Wizkid’s ‘Superstar’ redefined afro pop in Nigeria, he brought something new and exciting which was lacking before. This album was followed by Wizkid’s self-titled second album ‘Ayo’ and final album under EME, this album further confirmed Wizkid versatility and musical genius with hit songs like Jaiye Jaiye, Ojuelegba, On Top Your Matter to mention a few. In 2017, under his own record label; Starboy record, Wizkid released ‘Sound From The Other Side’, an attempt by him to delve into the international market with collaboration with top American artiste Chris Brown, Trey Songs amongst others and an attempt which some will say was not successful, as the album did not receive the expect acceptance by his fans. Typical of Wizkid he didn’t let this slow him down and that has paved way for him in the international market with collaboration with drake on ‘One Dance’ giving him wide spread international recognition and he also became the first Afro beat artist to appear in the Guinness world record in 2018.
Talking about achievements, Wizkid is one of the most awarded Africa act, he has a fan base cutting across nationality, culture and religion. Mention Wizkid in UK, South Africa and even in the United States of America and see how popular he really is. Last year he sold out the prestigious Royal Albert hall, becoming the first solo African act to achieve this. He followed this 7 month later, earlier this year with a sold out concert at the 02 arena in London, on a champions league final night(if you know the football culture in England you will know how great a feat this is), where he served up a beautiful music experience for his over 20,000 fans present. If this isn’t greatness I don’t know what is.
Let’s not forget the ‘Wizkid effect’, everything the star boy touches turns into gold, from collaborations, to singles, to endorsement. Whatever has Wizkid name on it is destined for greatness. There were arguments on his effect on a collaboration he has with Duncan Mighty; ‘Fake Love’. Some felt the song would have blown with or without Wizkid, as Duncan Mighty is a star in his own right but I can tell you Wizkid blow the song. Without Wizkid’s mesmerizing voice, it would have just been a usual Duncan mighty song; this single has opened a flood gate of collaboration for the P/H act. That’s the type of effect Wizkid has and he has been doing this consistently for the past 10 years. Major brands know this and it has been earning him major endorsement deals with the recent one with P Diddy’s Ciroc and the top American producer and business mogul in one of his post referred to Wizkid as ‘a young black king’. Wizkid also recently launched a Star boy jersey in collaboration with Nike and sold out in 10mins!!!! Even major fashion brand find it hard to achieve this.
Some might argue he has not done enough for the ordinary people and be their voice like the legendary Fela was, to be mentioned in the same breath with the Afro beat legend but every artiste has their path, what inspires them differs. 2pac was more of a freedom fighter and it reflects in his song while Micheal Jackson was a different type of artiste compare to 2pac, does that take away from their greatness? We can’t all be freedom fighters.
It has become increasingly evident that celebrities only reach the cult status and become immortalized into legendhood when they die, because it is then we stop and appreciate their greatness but whatever the case may be, one thing that cannot be disputed is Wizkid in one of the biggest artiste out of Africa at the moment and he will go down as one of the greatest artiste to ever do it.

A falling drug addict

To me....an artist in his prime...am a fan of some of his music tho...I feel he should take advantage of this spotlight

Artiste in his prime biko, meanwhile he should stop being a dead beat dad and be a role model, not when he turns grey before taking his responsibilities just cause he wants to be taken care of by the same kids he is ignoring now.

wheenie:
To me....an artist in his prime...am a fan of some of his music tho...I feel he should take advantage of this spotlight

Hello gorgeous

Wizkid with that his shitty music discography would never be a legend.,And stop putting him in the same sentence with a colossus like Michael jackson.. There is nothing he is doing that dbanj and others havent done before but no one his harping on those ones being legends. He is definitely an icon for his generation though
I won't lie