Ayodeji Balogun, a Nigerian Afrobeats singer better known as Wizkid, has marked his 30th birthday with the release of Smile, in which he featured Grammy winner, H.E.R .
The song, which was released on Thursday, comes ahead of Made in Lagos, his long-announced fourth studio album.
Wizkid‘s sojourn in the music industry started at the age of 11-years-old. He released a collaborative album with the Glorious Five, a group he and a couple of his church friends formed.
In 2019, he signed a record deal with Empire Mates Entertainment (EME) and rose to prominence after releasing Holla at Your Boy, the lead single from his debut studio album Superstar (2011).
In 2016, he achieved global recognition with One Dance, his collaboration with Drake. The song hit number one in 15 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
“I didn’t start making music to be an African star. I always wanted to be a worldwide musician,” Wizkid said in a recent interview with GoLondon.
“Music is a universal language. I always felt there is no soul that would listen to Afrobeats and not fall in love with it — only if you don’t love music, and I don’t know any human being that doesn’t love music.”
H.E.R, real name Gabriella Wilson, with whom he featured on his new track; rose to fame by participating in Radio Disney’s ‘Next Big Thing’. She later signed to RCA Records at the age of 14 and released the single Something to Prove.
In 2020, the 23-year-old songstress was nominated for five awards at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards; including the categories Album of the Year for I Used to Know Her and Song of the Year.
DOWNLOAD: ‘Smile’ by Wizkid