Wizkid was born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun on 16 July 1990. One of the most influential figures on the African music scene today, Wizkid has done chart-topping collabos with various big-name musicians across the world. Few people had expected all these powerful artists to work with this young musician from Nigeria. Here are some of the artists who have collabos with Wizkid.

 

Drake

On Wizkid’s song “Come Closer” he features Canadian rapper Drake. This song was released on 31st March 2017 as the third single on Wizkid’s third album named Sounds from the Other Side. By September 2020, Come Closer has sold more than 500,000 units to make Wizkid break records as the first artist from Africa to Gold certified as a feature and lead artist across the US. this song was Wizkid’s third collabo with Drake.

 

Beyonce

Released on July 23, 2019, Beyonce teamed up with Wizkid and Saint Jhn to release Brown Skin Girl. it was a soundtrack for the curated animated remake of the Lion King: The Gift and Black Is King. This song went on to win about 10 prestigious awards including a BET award and Soul Train Award.

 

Future

 

Wizkid also did a song titled “Every time “ with Future, one of America’s top-rated rappers whose real name is  Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn. The song was produced by Shizzi with assistance from Salaam Remi, a US record producer who has worked with people like Nas, Fugees, and Miguel. The song came months after dropping his “Sounds From The Other Side” album. You can listen to the list of best Wizkid songs on an entertainment site.

 

Justin Bieber

On 30 October 2021, Wizkid released the song “Essence”  from his album “Made In Lagos”. This song was the 11th track on the album. The song features Canadian artist and songwriter, Justin Bieber.

 

It has won the hearts of millions of fans across the globe and various nominations including the best music collabo during the Soul Train Music Awards. The song was the first one from Nigeria to top the Billboard Global 200 and the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The original and remix of this song went received more than 54 million Spotify streams.

 

Ella Mai

Wizkid has a song “Piece of me” with English songwriter and singer Ella Mai real name Ella Mai Howell. He reached out to her for a collabo for his album “Made In Lagos”. Ella started her musical career in 2014 at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute, London.

 

During this period, she auditioned for The X Factor’s 11th season as part of a trio. She used to sing on Instagram before Dj Mustard took her on. Working with Wizkid, one of Africa’s best and an international darling for music fans was a great experience for her.

 

Damian Marley

Bob Marley’s son Damian, has a song with Wizkid titled  “Blessed”. According to Rolling Stone, the two crossed paths at a New York hotel while Damian was promoting Stony Hill that won a Grammy in 2018 for Best Reggae Album. Wizkid has always listened to Damian and his father’s music for years. The meeting in New York was a dream come true.

 

Chris Brown

In 2015, Wizkid released a collabo with Chris Brown titled ‘African Bad Girl’. The Nigerian Star Boy and the US RnB maestro had a special bond for some time before the collabo. Wizkid couldn’t hide the excitement when he announced its release on his Twitter handle. The two got closer after Breezy discovered Wizkid’s music and got hooked. Their first meeting was in a Los Angeles studio in 2013.

 

By 2016, Wizkid with “Shabba” with Breezy, French Montana, and Trey Songz. Upon its release, the song became among the most streamed that year. The song helped with continuing to capture the hearts of the US audience. This song was a dedication to legendary dance hall artist, Shabba Ranks.

 

Akon

In 2014, Wizkid collaborated with Senegalese-born American artist, Akon to produce a song titled  “For You” for his “Ayo”  album. They did a new collabo “Escape”. This song was Akon’s major release following the release of his album “Akonda“. The song was among the soundtracks in the 2015 movie Black November.

 

The movie features a volatile population in an oil-rich community waging war against the corrupt government and exploitative oil multinationals. These people were fighting to protect their land from oil spills and excessive drilling. The movie also has more music by Mavado, Akon, and Dede Mabiaku.

 

Wizkid is a force to reckon with on the African and international music scene. His collabos with various local and international artists have pushed his music throughout all corners of the world. There’s even an argument that doing collabos with some artists has been a strategy to revive their music career.