Ayo Balogun, the popular Nigerian musician known as Wizkid is one of the Nigerians who has had a really great year, smashing records, topping charts, and selling event centers out.
Although, his Made in Lagos Album was released in 2020, it was late in October of the year, then the superstar went ahead with a collaboration with Tems on Essence that same year, which then gradually allowed the album to grow into the mind of the people.
The success so far cannot be underestimated as Essence ft Tems alone is making waves globally. In September of this year, Wizkid & Tems’ Essence hits No.1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop airplay chart, and that was not the first time it had been on the chart this year. The song had climbed from 10th in October to 1 in September, making the song Nigeria’s first song to reach the top 10 in Billboard Hot 100 chart history.
Then again, Wiz Lion as he is fondly called by his fans went ahead to host his musical concert tagged after the Made In Lagos album in the 02 Arena. The Made In Lagos 02 Arena tour was one of a kind, as he sold out the 02 Arena for three days back-to-back. It is important to state that the 02 Arena is a 20,000 capacity event center.
While his fans were yet to get over the magic he brought to them at the #MadeInLagos 02 Arena Tour, he won Apple Music Award for Artist of the Year (Africa) giving his fans enough to brag about.
In a bid to celebrate his Apple Music Award win, Wizkid had a chat with Apple Music where he spoke about the Made In Lagos project and the night Essence was made.
Wizkid on Made In Lagos album
“I felt it coming. I would say I’m lying if I didn’t feel it coming because it took me three years to work on that album. So I felt like there was going to be a shift, but I didn’t know how it would come. Because I knew that it was kind of like a different… it wasn’t a different sound, but it was a more mature sound from what I used to make.
“From when I was way young, man. I called my first album ‘Superstar.’ How confident can you be? So yeah. I was born to do this sh**, man.”
Making Essence with Tems
“Crazy thing is, the night we made ‘Essence,’ I made ‘Gyrate’ the same night. So sometimes in a night, I made two bangers, three bangers. I wake up and get to it. I treat this sh** like school. I wake up in the morning. I’m like, yeah, I did well yesterday. Let’s go. What are we doing today? You know what I mean?
“Hell yeah, man. I knew that [‘Essence’] was a smash. The night we made it, I actually tweeted something. My fans actually reminded me of it after we put out the album.
“Because I tweeted ‘Tems and I made magic.’ That was what I tweeted. I knew it was magic, man. I’ve been making this sh** for 10 years. Come on. You think I’m not going to know if we make it?
“It feels good. It feels really, really great. When you have a record like that, it feels good, man. But the most important thing is when we made it, we wasn’t thinking about no commercial success or anything like that. We was just trying to make good music. So I think maybe that’s why people really like that record like that because it just comes from the soul. Just natural, organic sh**.”
Going forward
Looking back at Wizkid, where he came from, and how he has been able to rise to fame, it is safe to say hard work pays. Over the years, he has shown consistency with his craft, continuously making music the way he loves to and it is so good to see that work paying off.
According to the superstar, “I don’t know what I did, but it just kicked the door open. I feel like everyone’s about to come through right now.” He said.
Knowing him and the kind of energy he invests into his craft, all we can expect from him is more magical vibes in the coming days.
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