Starvation. Besides how good the music is, starvation was the strategy that kept the entire industry hungry for Wizkid’s ‘Made In Lagos’ album in 2020. After years and months of teasing, date changes and social media absence, the world simply couldn’t wait to hear Wizkid’s voice on what has gone on to be one of the greatest afrobeats albums ever made.
And nothing was actually the same about Ayo Balogun. Firstly, he looked different. He had less skinny jeans on, and more straight cuts, more mature-looking designer brands, softer textures, lower hair cuts, more diamonds, and an overall outlook that gave off a much more experienced man than he was before the hiatus.
Also, he didn’t sound the same. As opposed to the trending fast-tempo feel that afrobeats was known to have at the time, Made In Lagos was calmer, mostly mid-tempo, and characterized by soft guitars layered over captivating percussion. The world was meeting a new Wizkid. He was the same hit maker Nigeria knew, but he was now also more into fatherhood, putting the sound on the international map, a performer, a style icon amongst other things.
Yet, this wasn’t the end of his reinvention.
With ‘More Love, Less Ego’, we again met another Wizkid — infusing global sounds into his music through collaborations.
But it’s 2025 now and since his ‘Morayo’ album, we are meeting yet another Wizkid. For some reason, Wizkid – the global afrobeats legend – feels like a new artist. His feature game this year feels like he’s trying to climb up some ladders, but which?
Even the blind can see Wizkid working towards establishing in the United States. This intention is backed by his recent features, shows and sightings. For this reason, he’s doing all the things new artists would do to break their target market, and it’s reflecting on how he sounds.
What do you think about his feature run so far and what do you imagine his next album will sound like?
Itty can be caught studying African pop culture, writing about it or hosting a relationship podcast. When he's not doing any of these, then he's definitely at a bar, getting mocktail.
