Wizkid (aka Starboy)

I have to drop this and run, but following up my own claim in rolling afrobeats, here is an overdue thread for Wizkid. And here is smash "Soco" to start with:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VrWaED18_g

Ha rob, I had this one lined up, that’s what you get for dragging your feet!

Obviously, Wizkid deserved to have his own thread years ago - I mean, he’s Africa’s best and (arguably) biggest (hello Davido!) pop star, the grandmaster of melodies and hooks, and, increasingly, vibes. But his output of the past year has been so astoundingly good that now is maybe an even better time than any.

These four monsters are all essential as well:

Mut4y ft. Wizkid • Manya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qMZMyH7pWU

DJ Spinall ft. Wizkid • Nowo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES8XuZBafz0

Starboy ft. Duncan Mighty & Wizkid • Fake Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCnvggIdBMU

Olamide x Wizkid • Kana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIJ4vkDa5rI

The relative failure of last year’s US/international crossover attempt might have been a blessing in disguise. Sure, it opened some doors, but I think all parties involved had expected much more in the wake of the spectacular success of “One Dance” (the limited chart success of “Come Closer” and the Sounds From The Otherside album after that might even have closed some immediate doors, his scrapped contribution to “Unforgettable” comes to mind).

But, thankfully, this seems to have liberated him musically, unleashed even perhaps. He’s making the best music in his career, and it’s more “Nigerian” than ever before. (Solid as it was, SFTOS was a deliberate attempt to meet the US market/public halfway, by being more R&B than is his wont, and quite literally, by way of a very Caribbean filter, and it felt slightly stilted as a result)

You get the sense he’s now decided for himself that if he’s going to make it at all internationally (as in outside of Africa) he might as well try to do it on his own terms.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

I love "Come Closer" and i can't help but wonder if Drake getting in the video might have done more for it. .. didn't feel like a compromise to me particularly (aside from Drake appearance) and it slots in well w/ like "pour me water" or shaydee "make sense"

“Come Closer” is good, but I find it hard to love (also because of Drake). It’s in no way top-tier Wizzy for me (and its vibe is at least as much Caribbean as African).

But I was talking about the album as a whole. The two Ty Dollar $ign tracks are among W’s weaker stuff (“Dirty Wine” in particular), the Chris Brown and Trey Songz collabs were good but outdated afropop, released two years too late. “Daddy Yo” was produced by dancehall producer Dre Skull, a fun single but also not top-tier.

For me the album was all about “Sweet Love”, “Sexy”, “Naughty Ride”, “Nobody”, and “Picture Perfect” - and some of those have a definite Caribbean vibe as well. (“All For Love”, the latin/SA house track with Bucie was another misfire).

But nothing on the album, “Sweet Love” excepted, is in the same league as “Manya”, “Soco” or “Fake Love”. There’s a looseness and an effortlessness in those songs that is lacking on SFTOS.

But either way, the promotional campaign was handled very badly by RCA, from what I could see from here (you seemed to imply it too, don’t know if you can corroborate this from a US perspective?) “Sweet Love”, “African Bad Gyal” and “Naughty Ride” were squandered as buzz tracks. They had placed all their bets on “Come Closer”, and there was no plan B (or just no interest after it failed to reach the Hot 100 - it did reach #25 or thereabouts on the R&B Airplay chart though if I remember correctly). Drake in the video might have helped (a bit), but it more or less coincided with his chart lull too.

And then, after the album predictably didn’t do too well either, they just sat on “Everytime” with Future, a very fresh and interesting afro-hybrid track with a lot of potential. By no means a guaranteed hit, but it wasn’t even given a shot:

http://www.youtube.com/wat h?v=Nrj51tM_wNs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrj51tM_wNs

Wizkid ft. Future • Everytime

dont disagree w the bulk of that tho i think i probably like 'come closer' maybe than you do

Soco really grew on me

Wizkid is one of those artists who I rarely actively seek out but I hear all the time and literally everything is enjoyable. Even the lightweight/tossed off stuff is just immensely likeable.

A really weird life moment was watching the Caro video and realising it was filmed in the actual hotel room where I spent my wedding night.

Wow, that’s amazing! Here is that “Caro” video, from 2013, because why not use this thread to post our favourite Wizzy tracks, old or new? There’s eight years worth of them!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF47kno4Dro

Starboy ft. Wizkid & L.A.X • Caro
(produced by Legendury Beatz)

This one dropped last week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVwkxV5tp50

Nana Rogues ft. Wizkid & Not3s • To The Max

Matt otm with "immensely likeable"

Starting this thread inspired me to listen to a bit of Superstar this morning. As much as I love the lush beauty of 2018 Wizkid, I was left a little nostalgic for the lo-fi, offbeat quality (relatively speaking) of tracks like "Don't Dull".

Posted by |||||||| in the Afropop thread: Skepta ft. Wizkid • Energy (Stay Far Away): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPIOEheFoHs

Another good one from this year: Mystro ft. Wizkid • Immediately:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUoNQpZZ70c

First Wizkid-as-Wizkid songs of this Year of Wizkid - no circumventing the RCA contract with Starboy / Mut4y feat. bullshit. Made In Lagos album coming soon, hopefully.

1) Fever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y65E6xXyEF4

(produced by Blaq Jerzee and Northboi)

2) Master Groove:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My7eVeca9DA

(produced by Phantom)

Note: Blaq Jerzee also produced Kcee’s new single “Psycho”, which features Wizzy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v0MlHOjLYg

wau "Fever" is fantastic! doo-doo doo-doo
(haven't listened to the others yet)

ok "Master Groove" is also really great. Any word on Made In Lagos? I just searched and one article said he'd announced the release date as Oct 1 back in the spring

Wizkid and album announcements, don’t get me started. He probably set that date back then because it’s Nigeria’s Independence Day. Let’s count our blessings that he actually came out with these new songs today!

(He did tweet a while back that he’d been working on (more) tracks for the album with both Northboi and Killertunes. Can’t wait!)

Hang on a minute, why are Wizkid and Tiwa Savage both trending right now?

*clicks through* Oh that's why.

fever is brilliant

well then...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haA7DpK9Z4k

good stuff

if Tim does that favorite music moments thread again this year, "doo-doo, doo-doo" will be my first post

Today, we have a stone cold classic from 2013, before Maleek Berry found out what he really wanted to be:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrhyYcSrQkY

Maleek Berry ft. Wizkid • The Matter

...and over here in the brand-new crossover corner, it’s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drchDpoX0wo

Normani x Calvin Harris ft. Wizkid • Checklist

Wizkid teaming up with his long-time Ghanaian buddies R2Bees again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRiYk1nLc20

“Supa”

Back in Crossover Corner:

I’ve been fantasizing about a Wizkid / J Balvin collabo ever since I heard Balvin’s “Tu Verdad” and... it’s here?!!?!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLs4Ia-MIys

Metro Boomin ft. Wizkid, Offset & J Balvin • Only You

Now all we need is a Fever-type video featuring the two lovebirds...

(btw, there’s also a Wizkid x Swae Lee track on the Metro Boomin album)

The problem with “Borrowed Love”, the Swae Lee track, is that Wizkid is on it for barely 30 secs.

damn "Only You" is good. not totally feeling Balvin's part, but everything else is so pretty

New one, for domestic use only:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcsMPSdJ1Y8

Starboy feat. Wizkid & Slimcase • Gucci Snake

(produced by Northboi and Killertunes)

He's on such a roll right now it's pretty much unbelievable, lol.

Some of these Killertunes tracks are starting to blend together for me I have to say. I mean, I kind of like all of them (I'm listening to and loving Tiwa's "One" while I write this), but I'd love to hear Wizkid on something really different

Be careful what you wish for, rob. Wizkid has been in the studio with... Naughty Boy.

haha, I was going to say the same to you after visiting the singles jukebox :/

tbh I'm not very familiar with Boy's oeuvre, but I'd settle for Killertunes not using that synth marimba (or mbira maybe?) sound for a change

I love Killertunes’ work and I’m glad he found success, but his sound is the mainstream now, so it’s bound to lose its luster at some point. As long as he keeps coming up with breathtaking new approaches like on Olamide’s “Logba Logba” (of which I feel “One” is an extension) I’m not too worried though.

As for Naughty Boy: there’s too much UK-chart tackiness in his MO for my liking. Having said that, this single from last year is the most likely blueprint as far as Wizzy goes and if nothing else, the percussion on it slams:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86MV-8gC5uw

Naughty Boy ft. Kyla & Popcaan • Should’ve Been Me

And yeah, that TSJ review of “Fever” was rough. “Great instrumental, shame about the vocal”, that was about it for the most part.

(Pleasantly surprised that they ran both of my suggestions though, making it three African selections in one week, surely an all-time record. You or longneck should send in some dancehall suggestions!)

I think I too often complain on these threads instead of expressing the enthusiasm I actually feel. I love the Killertunes sound and generally what's been so exciting about Nigerian music for the past several years is the energetic and constantly developing production approaches. A few years ago it felt like the Tekno sound was going to take over everything, but jump to 2018 and we've got this lush kinda rnb-highlife fusion stuff, more afropop than afrobeats, everywhere. The range is super thrilling, plus there are of course other things happening, e.g., Burna Boy's Outside is still a major highlight of the year for me.

I wrote a whole thing about TSJ and deleted it. Let's just say while I like some of the individual writers, the format doesn't work for me.

I made a Spotify playlist out of my favorite wizkids this year.

It’s missing “For You” with Kizz, Kiddominant’s “Alright” and “Psycho” with Kcee - unless you don’t rate those of course.

I like them but still think they're all a notch below the ones I included on this one. I'll listen again if you think they're on the level though.

I have a more comprehensive playlist of wizzy's 2018 here.

“For You”>”Alright”>”Psycho”, and I’ll take all three over “Bella” in a heartbeat.

But it’s your playlist - as long as you don’t put this Stargate/Coldplay conconction on it I’m fine with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvoVjUE-FGg
If you don’t want to listen to it: Wizkid is relegated to hypeman status and Tiwa is supposed to be on it too.
(Meanwhile, Davido is featured on a track on the Clean Bandit album, but at least he’s allowed to recognizably be himself)

Also, this old footage of Wizkid is amazing:

http://thenativemag.com/music/legacy-wizkid-throws-down-legendary-freestyle-car/

I somehow never got into For You, but as it’s Kizz Daniel season I will give it another shot. He somehow kept it off his album, though?

Yes, that kind of surprised me too.

Hmm, a few things on longneck's list I don't think I've heard. Plus I forgot "Commando" was 2018--he really put out quite an oeuvre this year.

Glad to see Master Groove. It's kind of the perfect b-side to Fever but might be more palatable for some.

xp

okay, here’s your new song, everybody - not listening to it now, it’s sleepy time for me, but have at it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BBw8q_4Xj0

Wizkid • No Stress

(it has the artwork!)

Nice, very mellow & late-night, aptly titled.

Is it just me or has naija pop gotten significantly more ‘slack’ this year? Or at least the English lyrics are a lot dirtier?

there might be, yes. can’t think of any examples right now (except for Kizz’s “Fvck You” from last year) - Omah Lay has some explicitness too, I think. But this kind of explicit sexual “fuck” (with added “suck”!) is definitely a first for Wizzy.

happy with “No Stress” (produced by P2J, btw) - “Smile” was fine, though many miles from being my favourite Wizkid, but this fits the Made-in-Lagos brief much better.

I love the “1 Thing” interpolation, of course

did I mention “No Stress” is delightful? intimate Wizzy is the best

MADE IN LAGOS. @WIZKIDAYO.
15TH OCT.

Pre-order/pre-save the album and listen to new track 'No Stress' here: https://t.co/tDQsv2UPDo pic.twitter.com/LD84yGgRTb

— Columbia Records UK (@ColumbiaUK) September 17, 2020

Yeah, No Stress is far superior to Smile.

looks like this will be the cover:

https://bonnewshaiti.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/New-Music-Wizkid-Stress-Stream-Mp3.jpg

No stress, just smile - we have a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oseK1D6ru0

I am so hyped up and ready to update my list of top 50 songs by Wizkid

The artist has pulled in singers HER and Ella Mai, Jamaican artists Projexx and Damian Marley and fellow Nigerian artists Tems, Starboy Terri, Skepta and Burna Boy.

There will be several producers working on the all includes long-time collaborators of the singer such as Blaqjerzee, Sarz and Mut4y, and other West African (London, P2J Music and Juls).

The album has been pushed back to the 22nd, for good reason this time:
There are mass protests going on in Nigeria as we speak (supported internationally as well) to demand an end to police brutality:
https://thenativemag.com/music/wizkid-postpones-made-lagos-release-due-endsars/

The protests are also mentioned in this interview Wizzy did with the Financial Times (hope the link works).

man the starboy EP from last year is so good wtf, i totally missed that. “cool me down” is also great

looking forward to this record a lot... “smile” wasn’t that exciting but easy to imagine it fitting nicely in the context of an album. “no stress” is on point tho. he’s still managed to maintain a pretty identifiable sound even as afropop has really blossomed around him. & selfishly i find it insane that burna boy didn’t work with kel p at all on twice as tall... i’m very ready for more kel p vibes in my life

Jordan, just in case you missed it (it wasn't posted on this thread), there's also "Pami", the follow-up to "Cool Me Down":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYiUHMF7upY
DJ Tunez ft. Wizkid, Adekunle Gold & Omah Lay • Pami

thank you breastcrawl

Don’t hold your breath for Made in Lagos. With many artists being involved in the protests, the Naija music industry has m/l come to a standstill. Davido’s new album (scheduled for Oct 30) has been postponed as well.
Last week, when Reekado Banks announced he was about to drop his new single, a track with Wizkid, Wizzy publicly forced him to pull it back because it would be inappropriate in the current climate.

Tellingly, the only “new” songs in
Nigeria’s streaming charts are Fela Kuti classics, with “Beasts of No Nation” as the most popular one.

More on the protest (and the crackdown) here:
A Nigeria Thread (Non-Music Division)

protest*s*

Musicians, you can release music now. I know many of you are scared of being treated like Reekado Banks, but you will not starve forever.

December dey come, which song wey you wan use perform? The one we over-listened during lockdown?

Don't play yourself. Give us new jam!

— Joey Akan (@JoeyAkan) October 27, 2020

https://www.instagram.com/p/CG7I0lJJzMr/?igshid=1ef3nxirft1hp

14 tracks, 8 duets

https://bonnewshaiti.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Wizkid-unveils-official-artwork-and-tracklist-for-Made-In-Lagos.jpg

he said tonight, apple music says nov 1, from what i can see on twitter it's not out anywhere. i await w/ patience

no stress

if “11:11 Tonight” is UK time as some people are claiming, it should be here any second now...

...and it is!

but that’s for tomorrow, going to bed now

!!!

happy listening everybody!

Loving the first 2 mins lol

made a thread for it in my sleep:

wizkid • made in lagos (2020)

Video for Ginger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSy2lBZ1QrA

I really wanted to stress the level of professionalism that is peaking in Nigerian pop right now and becoming the norm for top artists. Wizkid has made a string of them by now, so maybe what I'm saying is helped by the fact that we just invested in a videoprojector and we're able to enjoy them cinema-size. But seriously, I find the blend of aesthetics, fashion, beauty, color very alluring. They seem purely artistic too, they're not popular or vulgar (rather a bit elitist), and I'm sure some would find they miss a narrative, but beauty is fine by me.

For sure there are juicy deals with the fashion industry behind this (better than alcohol at least). If you're interested:
https://afrobeats360.com/2020/12/21/2020-fashion-trends/
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/04/business/media/nigerian-fashion-magazines-women.html
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/why-africas-musicians-are-a-marketing-goldmine

I can confirm that that video looks amazing on small and large screens. When Burna shows up in the rainbow sweater after all the beautiful earth-tones, it's a genuine shock

harder better faster stronger:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqPOXESGcJI
Reminisce ft. Wizkid • Eleniyan

(from 2013)

let's not forget it was produced by Sarz

one more time, from the very early Samklef days: this came out almost simultaneously with "Don't Dull", in december 2010:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUFDMWYEGjI
JayRu ft. Wizkid • Familiarity

the ultimate accolade?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjMts2i93-0
Justin Bieber ft. BEAM • Freedom

i do not know who this clown is but the real whiz kid is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaaqj9EQ6h8

^can we ban this prick already? adding "unprovoked hostility" to your "just youtubes" posting style was not a move in the right direction

seconding, these were my exact feelings as well. I hardly ever fp, but I made an exception for this.

haven't seen anyone post this dj tunez x wiz amapiano-flavored banger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut4uAVjRxns

new single w/ brent faiyaz this coming friday. tripling down on the made in lagos sound but the snippet has me intrigued

yeah, i’m thinking he’s back

kinda feels more like faiyaz feat. wizkid than the other way around but it's good

WizKid's new album 'Morayo' will be released on November 22. pic.twitter.com/GeJSKt6JVA

— chart data (@chartdata) October 18, 2024

“piece of my heart” is definitely obviously heavy on brent’s vocals but it’s so deep in wiz’s sonic world that it almost feels like a song of mutual appreciation or something

i think the production is fantastic, adding some new textures to this sound he’s sorta created, just a lot of cool things happening at diff points in the song. the second half … i wonder if they’ll end up being two songs … is particularly great to me, brent sounds amazing singing that at hook and i like the interplay between their vocals. “essence” was really a tems heavy lift, so wiz has done this kinda thing before. i dig it

between this and “MMS” i’m pretty excited about the album. very few people in human history will make a better album than ‘made in lagos’ but to me those two songs feel more like he’s found new pockets in his sound, where the last album stuck in the mud

i love "piece of my heart" and have been playing it constantly

a lot to love on this album imo

it's lovely on first listen, he's done it again

great album. “karamo” is my early favorite. he’s such a natural collaborator, wouldn’t expect faiyaz to fit so well in wiz’s world, but that song works much better than i thought it would. bringing in jazmine to do another essence was inspired

I like the parts (groove, soulful production), it's all in good taste, but the songs seem to enter one ear and leave immediately, especially in the last 2/3rds. Maybe I have had an overdose of his sound and this just seems more superficial, pretty, with less shining moments. It's still good, I just expected more.