However, he reflected on the early days of his career and getting signed to the Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E) record label.
“Me getting signed by Banky was one of the most amazing things that ever happened to me. It was just an amazing moment for me, man. It changed my life. And I wanna thank Banky for understanding the vision and taking me under his wings like his little brother.”
The docuseries also features some of the prominent individuals who have not only played a role in Wizkid’s career or related to the singer but are big wings in the Nigerian entertainment and creative industry.
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Dignified musician and entrepreneur Banky W, who signed Wizkid into Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E) record label at 19, shared;
“He would just go to any studio where they would let him hang out. He would hang out all day and just wait, and hope and pray, for the engineers or producers to take pity at me and say ‘come and record for 15/30 minutes’ cause obviously he couldn’t pay for his [own] sessions. All day long he would be working on hooks, melodies, and just coming up with things, in case he was given an opportunity to jump on the mic for a few minutes… For me, I think, that’s where the name ‘wiz’ comes from and why it’s so appropriate… and obviously the ‘kid’ cause he was very small in stature but big in heart”
A Decade later, Big Wiz, as he is now affectionately known, is an internationally acclaimed superstar, he has been at the forefront and a front liner in the recent afrobeat global recognition, having collaborated with the likes of Drake, Beyoncé, Chris Brown, Wale, Skepta, Damian Marley and more.
He recently won Grammy, Soul Train and BET awards for his contribution to Beyoncé’s anthem “Brown Skin Girl”.
And he graciously assisted Drake to get his first Billboard Hot 100 number one single, as the lead artist, with “One Dance”.
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As a label boss and founder of Starboy Entertainment, Wizkid has done the same that was done to him for other artists such as Terri, DJ Tunez and many others who have since left the label.
Speaking about his boss’ work ethic, Terri says:
“He is hard working. I never knew that Wiz would work as much as he does until I started to roll around him. He doesn’t sleep. There are times where everybody in the house feels like ‘yo, my guy you’ve been on the road for how long…’ but instead of him trying to find ways to relax, he is calling five producers at the same time.”
Many fans and critics agree that Superstar is a classic, and was a monumental album for contemporary Nigerian popular music.
His approach has certainly grown and evolved since then, but his debut album laid the foundation for it all.
Wizkid’s latest album Made In Lagos and its singles “Ginger” and “Essence” is globally acclaimed.