Wizkid at 36: 36 Times Wizkid Made History

Machala has never really been in the business of making noise. He lets the numbers, the records and the music do the talking. Over the last 15 years, Starboy has gone from a teenager with a breakout hit to one of the biggest names to ever come out of Africa.

As he turns 36 today, we’re looking back at 36 wins that define a career still in motion.

1. One of the most awarded African artistes in BET history with 4 BET trophies.
2. Founded Starboy Entertainment in 2013.
3. First Nigerian artist to appear on Billboard’s Real-Time Twitter chart (2016).
4. Won his first Grammy Award, Best Music Video, for “Brown Skin Girl” with Beyoncé (2021).
5. “Essence” became the first Nigerian song to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
6. The Justin Bieber remix of “Essence” hit number 11 on the Hot 100, still the highest-charting Billboard Hot 100 placement by an African act.
7. “Made in Lagos” hit number one on the Billboard World Albums chart and became the first African album to earn an RIAA Gold certification in the United States.
8. Most awarded African artiste at the NAACP without a total of 6 awards.
9. Most awarded African artist at the Soul Train Awards, with three wins.
10. Most awarded African artist at the Billboard Music Awards, with three wins.
11. Most awarded African artist at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
12. Most awarded African artist at the NAACP Image Awards, with eight wins.
13. First Nigerian artist to ever win an NAACP Image Award (2020).
14. Most awarded African artist at the American Music Awards, with two wins.
15. Holds an MTV Video Music Award as one of Africa’s most decorated acts there.
16. Won his seventh MOBO Award this year for Best African Music Act, a full-circle moment since his first MOBO win came in the same category back in 2011.
17. Holds an ASCAP songwriting plaque for his contribution to Drake’s “One Dance.”
18. Most awarded artiste in The Headies’ entire history.
19. Won The Headies’ Next Rated award in 2011, and got a Hyundai Sonata thrown in as the prize.
20. Named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Africans by New African magazine (2019).
21. Named Apple Music’s Artist of the Year for Africa (2021).
22. First African artist to headline Rolling Loud, doing it in Toronto in 2022.
23. Had October 6th declared as “Wizkid Day” in Minnesota by the state’s governor (2018).
24. Became the first African artist to headline Rolling Loud when he performed at the Toronto edition in 2022. 
25. Became the most awarded artist in The Headies history.
26. His feature on Normani and Calvin Harris’s “Checklist” hit number one on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart.
27. Received the BRIT Billion Award, becoming the first African artist to surpass one billion streams in the United Kingdom 
28. His documentary, “Wizkid: Long Live Lagos,” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2025.
29. “Morayo” broke the record for the biggest streaming debut of an African album on Spotify (2024).
30. Grammy nominee for Best African Music Performance this year, for “Gimme Dat” with Ayra Starr.
31. Headlined his own homecoming show, GOAT: The Greatest of All Time Experience, at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos (December 2025).
32. Dropped “Real, Vol. 1” with Asake this January, and both “Turbulence” and “Jogodo” charted on the UK Singles Chart.
33. Headlined Morocco’s Mawazine Festival in June 2025.
34. Built Starboy Entertainment from scratch in 2013 and used it to launch acts like Mr Eazi and Terri.
35. Became the first African artist to sell out the O2 Arena on three consecutive nights during his Made in Lagos tour in 2021 
36. Became the first Nigerian artist to win an American Music Award, taking home Favorite Afrobeats Artist in 2022.

Thirty-six years in, Wizkid’s story is far from over. New records will be broken, more awards will likely follow, and the numbers will keep growing. Happy birthday, Starboy!