Afrobeats pioneer Wizkid on his success: “I want to feed people with the finest music”
Wizkid, the Nigerian-born sensation, has emerged as a dominant force in the global music scene, pioneering the Afrobeats revolution. Known for his ability to fuse Afro-centric rhythms with vibrant melodies and irresistible grooves, he has become a true musical maverick.
His collaborations with international superstars have solidified his reputation for creating infectious hooks that transcend cultures and continents. In 2016, his collaboration with Drake and UK garage star Kyla on ‘One Dance’ broke records as the most-streamed song on Spotify at the time. Building on this success, WizKid released his critically acclaimed third studio album, ‘Sounds From the Other Side’, in 2018, featuring a versatile blend of Afrobeats, reggae, dancehall, and pop. The following year, he collaborated with Beyoncé on the Grammy Award-winning ‘Brown Skin Girl’ from her album ‘The Lion King: The Gift’.
Despite his long-standing status as the face of Afrobeats since his debut album ‘Superstar’ in 2011, WizKid continued to impress with his career-defining album ‘Made In Lagos’. This record showcased his suave vibe and versatility, incorporating fresher sounds such as amapiano. WizKid’s achievements include multiple gold and platinum RIAA plaques, Guinness World Record appearances, and becoming the first African artist with three platinum-selling tracks.
His latest album, ‘More Love, Less Ego’, demonstrates his chameleon-like musical abilities and his mastery of various genres. With this record, WizKid expands his sound while maintaining his enchanting appeal.
WizKid’s success has been accompanied by extensive world tours and performances on renowned stages, including Rolling Loud and the Other Stage at Glastonbury. He sold out three nights at London’s The O2 arena during his ‘Made In Lagos’ world tour, featuring guest appearances from Skepta, Chris Brown, Tems, and Ella Mai.
Now, WizKid is set to face his biggest challenge to date – a performance at the 62,000-capacity Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London. Beyoncé has previously accomplished this feat, and Burna Boy became the first African artist to headline and sell out a stadium show in the UK earlier this month. Speaking with NME, he discusses his love for performing, his longevity, and more while “micromanaging” the planning for this historic stadium show.
NME: You have your debut UK stadium show coming up, how is it doing all these big shows around the world?
“I feel blessed. Yeah, I absolutely think that’s all part of the craft, right? You make the music. When they come to your shows, you want them to also listen to it in a different light or how you envisioned it when you were making it, so it’s equally as important.”
“I remember my first London gig. I think I was in the club or something – I think it was around 300 people? That was crazy. The vision is always to make music and perform on the biggest of the biggest stages around the world. So doing that feels great and feels one step too. Just reaching the world.”
You’ve been an important figure in Afrobeats for over a decade…
“You tired of me? [laughs] I’ve been here for a minute, man and I love making music.”
Would you say your mission with music has changed at all?
“No, it’s always been the same for me. I want to feed the people and myself with the finest music that I can make. Make people feel great or however, they want to feel because people react to music differently. Just to make people feel very important to me.”
‘More Love, Less Ego’ is quite an all-encompassing record. Do you feel like there’s pressure to represent the whole diaspora?
“Nah, I’m very intrigued about life and the possibilities of what can be. So every time I always like to get in the studio to push myself sound-wise, like, ‘What can I make? What kind of music can I make? But how can I go about making great music?’ I want to make people feel for me. That has always been the approach for me. When I make music, I just make good music, I guess. I think that’s what I like to call it. I don’t like to put myself in a box like it’s Afrobeats or rap or R&B. It’s just fine music.”
How do you feel about fans pitting you and other Afrobeats stars against each other online?
“No, I don’t [see the competitiveness]. I don’t pay it no mind. I’m in my little bubble. I only vibrate towards love and see love. I don’t compare my daily life or my life in general, so I don’t see a reason to ever fit into any of that. I’m a big fan of everyone that makes good music, so I don’t really care. Love; that’s the only religion that I know.”
There’s a lot of unity in your music…
“As I grow older as well and travel the world, I’ve been blessed to make friends from all over the world that listen to my kind of music or vibrate high to my music. So it’s very important, as a human being, what you feed yourself. What you feed yourself is what you give out. With a whole lot of love and music from all around the world, when I make music, I try as much as possible to make it as relatable to every human being.”
You’ve cited Bob Marley as someone you want to have a similar legacy to…
“Just what he represents for the world of music and for Jamaica – that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m on my own journey, writing the chapters of the book as each day passes. That’s a great man to be inspired by, but I’m doing it my own way.”
You’re a record breaker. Last week, ‘Come Closer’ went Platinum, making you the first African artist to have three RIAA platinum tracks…
“I didn’t know that. Yeah, I don’t care about those things. Sorry, but I truly don’t. I think it’s a great thing to be able to do numbers, and it’s a business at the end of the day as well so it’s great to see that when you invest your time, you can get something back.”
When you say you don’t care, is it because you went platinum and the business aspect of it?
“I do care about the business part of it. I’m a businessman before anything else. But selling loads, that’s not sustainability. That doesn’t mean you’re going to be here forever. If you put out a record right now that sells 10 million copies, how long can you do that for? What are you doing with your performances? Are you touching people in real life? So, for me, it’s more about the whole bigger picture than just selling records. Of course, if I make music, I wanted to sell amazing numbers, but I don’t go in the studio saying, ‘Oh, this song I’m making today must sell this.’”
What’s longevity to you?
”To be honest, for me, it is not even how long you do it. It’s how impactful you’ve done in the space of time you’ve had. How does it impact the world for generations to come? That’s what [longevity] is for me because true art never really dies. When you make [true art] it stays there.”
How do you feel about Afrobeats getting all this recognition right now and all these records being broken by some of your peers and yourself?
“That’s been the mission and the vision for Afrobeats artists, producers, filmmakers, everyone from home to just get it. There’s a whole lot of talent from home and from [the Black diaspora] everywhere in the world. So it’s only right for it to get that attention it’s getting right now and even more. There’s real talent, like raw and tapped talent back home that the world needs to hear. It’s a blessing to be here.”
How would you describe Afrobeats like that feeling, the music itself?
“That’s a very simple question, but that’s a very tough question as well, because how do I tell you the answer to that? I would say Afrobeats is the music of love because everything that we make was done with a whole lot of love. When you go to our shows, the energy in there is different from the rap shows or pop shows or whatever shows [out there]. It’s the music that vibrates love. That’s why people gravitate towards it right now. People want to listen to that because even if we talk about the craziest thing that’s not even about love, you still feel love listening to an Afrobeats record.”
‘Essence’ is one of the biggest songs of your career. How is it like reuniting with Tems, who features on the track on stage recently?
“My sister! I have the purest of love for her. So it’s amazing when we get to perform that song or link up anytime and just hang out. Amazing spirit, amazing energy. I love her. That song means love to me, joy to me, man. I feel like I needed that song as much as people needed that song in their lives. When I make music, I make what I want to listen to, what I want to vibrate to. So what it did for the people, it did for me.”
What’s next for you? What do you want to be when you’re finished with music?
“I actually think I’ll never be finished with music. The other question, though, is a very tough question. I don’t want to be anything. I’m not trying to be anything. I’m just being me. I’m doing me: the best version that I can every day on a daily basis. I guess we just have to leave it to people to say what I am or what I have been to people. Yeah, just living life, making my own mistakes.”
Wizkid will perform at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on July 29
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