WizKid (notjustOk Hype)

notjustOk hype will feature (or may be not) the future heavy hitters
in naija music. Any material featured in this category will be from
unsigned or up & coming Nigerian/African, artists/rappers/producer/record label that
contain nothing but promising content. There will only be a post a
month in this category.

If you have or know of anyone’s music that you feel is a hit or any good, please send an email to the official notjustOk email with a link to their page or where I can download the song.

As far as you can remember when did you start singing and how did you know you had the gift?

It all started at church when I was 11… I didn’t join the choir because I wasn’t too confident of my voice so I was just playing around with rap, but after I turned 14, I tried experimenting something new so I did a song and I actually sang and then discovered that was what I was good at. So I just stuck to it and tried developing more skills.

How and when did you get to that point where you knew you wanted to pursue this as a career?

I can’t say I decided to pursue it as a career at a particular age. All I know is, when I started recording and performing I wanted to do it for life!

What was happening around the period you got on M.I’s fast money fast cars and how did you land the feature?

I went to drop off stuff at M.I’s place on a Sunday morning and he just played the beat and said “Wiz can u do something to this?” And I just started humming “if u don’t talk money omo don’t show up” and he said add a little bit off yoruba in there and “tobalowo” just came, in like 10 minutes I was done recording and that was it. After this song was released on MI’s Talk About It album, let’s just say, a lot of good things happened.

You are now signed to EME, how did that happen?

I went for a gig with M.I and Kel. Banky also performed at that show and then he invited us to his crib for lunch. We got there and for like an hour Banky didn’t know I was Wizkid. When he heard someone call my name he was shocked and just started talking to my manager Osagie about working with me. He had heard some of my songs and had wanted to meet me. From that day, Banky was willing to support me, help me develop my talent and career. He believes in me to date and sees great potential. So thats how it all started and am loving it here.

What new singles can we expect and where is Wizkid headed? What kind of mark are you trying to make in the music industry?

Wizkid is headed for the top… Aint no stopping me!… I’m here to change the industry for good. Wizkid is going to be a brand name in a few months. Everybody will want to associate with the brand WIZKID!!.. My singles will drop real soon… So my work will definitely speak for me!

WORLD PREMIERE - Hola at Your Boy (Unmixed)

I see you have been touring a lot lately. What has the experience been like? What do you prefer performing live or recording?

Loving it man…though its stressful and I don’t get to see my family on a regular, but they are cool with it. After all, the prayer has always been things falling in place for me for good so its cool. The experience is crazy though, fun as usual and I get to visit different cities and states that I always wanted to visit so its cool, really cool. I love performing with the live band, though I don’t get to do that all the time but the live band has always been my thing.

Nice, so what city is your favorite so far?

Mehn, I love all the cities for different reasons..I can’t even pick o..thats really hard ’cause Nigeria is a beautiful place and the more you travel the more you discover good things about your country so I just love Naija mehn. Lol!!

I can imagine. You did justice to the singles on Banky W’s album, how was the experience working with him and what have you learned from Banky music wise that has helped you?

It was really cool working with Banky and still working with him… Every time I work with a different artiste it’s always a different experience and I tend to learn something different so working with Banky was a W experience.. lol… I had fun in the studio from the first day we did ‘Omoge you too much‘ and ‘Tanker‘ was just something we just decided to play with… We didn’t even know it was going to come out like that..but I’ve learnt how to stay dedicated to my work and be a better artiste so its really cool.

So how would you define your music? Can it fit into a genre?

I’ve always had problems defining my kind of music, because on different records I do different things. I just work with the sound basically; I guess thats why am the WIZKID… lol… but let’s just say I make music. Anything that sounds good.

(Laugh) How did you even coin the name Wizkid?

The name WIZKID came about at an armed robbery scene in my house but I wouldn’t wanna go into details because it wasn’t a good experience..However, my sisters and cousins teased me with the name for a while and it just stuck!

Wow that’s funny now, but I’m sure it was not funny then. So is there an album in the works and does it have a name yet?

Started working on my album already but don’t have a name for it yet, but I am dropping singles real soon and it premieres on NotjustOk..hehe!

Lol! What are they called?
Holla @ ur BoY and GIDI GIRL..

WORLD PREMIERE - Gidi Girl (Unmixed)