Charlez Blog

There is no doubt Ayo Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid is the hottest name in the Nigerian music industry at the moment. With a deal with Pepsi, non-stop performances round the world, working with international acts like Akon and Chris Brown, and airwaves-ruling songs, the superstar can look back and say 2012 was a great year.
Ayo Balogun just dropped a single and he says it’s his own way of saying thank you to fans after a successful year he believes couldn’t have been that successful without the fans.
“After having a successful year and touring the United Kingdom and the United States and going everywhere for shows, I feel it’s just right that at the end of the year, I say thank you to my fans that have shown me love and support. I know it’s just my little way because I can’t go to everybody and say thank you; so I decided to do a song and appreciate my fans and friends. I’m thankful to God and my fans; they’ve bought my CDs. I’m just on my first album and I’ve done a lot with it. I feel so blessed and I know it’s the grace of God, the support of my fans and my hard work,” Wizkid told Tribune.
Making music had always been his dream, but Wizkid didn’t want to defile his parents who wanted to study no matter what, but fame got him out of class.
“I was in university and I left in my second year. Before I left, I was doing very fine academically and my parents had no problem with that; but when the music and the brand became bigger, I couldn’t stay in class because people were mobbing me. It got really crazy and I don’t think there is any university I will go in Nigeria without getting mobbed. So, I just had to take a break from school and focus on my music for now,” he said.
Wizkid doesn’t plan to let fans recover from his fever as he says he’s got his second album ready and will be dropping it next year. He promises a better album than his first which he says sometimes made him feel he should have done better. The fans will definitely start the year with Wizzy as he says his first single of the year, produced by Don Jazzy will be dropped in January.
For a star who says he manages the women that come with fame the ‘same way all other artistes manage theirs’, he’s still very single and says his mum remains his girlfriend until he finds the girl she can truly call his.
D’banj and 2Face are his biggest inspiration in the music industry.
“2face is a legend; I grew up listening to him when I was in secondary school. I was following 2face, and for me to be performing on the stage right now with him is a blessing,” he says.
Wizkid says he also has a good working relationship with Akon who he sees as a big brother. “There is a new album coming out, Stardom, which I featured in.”
About his EME family he says, “We used to live together, but we don’t live together anymore. But we work together and use the same studio every day. The relationship with EME is crazy; our work ethic is mad because we are always working.”