By Enitan Abdultawab
Senegalese-American music star Akon has opened up about his role in Wizkid’s early career, revealing that he signed the Nigerian singer after Banky W introduced the then-rising talent to him during a visit to Nigeria.
Akon, who appeared in a recent interview with Shade Room, dismissed claims that he discovered Wizkid, insisting that the credit belongs to Banky W, who had already nurtured the singer before bringing him into the partnership.
“Banky W discovered Wizkid. That’s how that collaboration went. I went to Nigeria, and Banky brought me Wiz, and I’m like: ‘Bro! This kid is a star.’ They had limited resources, so when I signed Wiz, that was what broke him into the United States,” he said.
According to Akon, his involvement helped introduce Wizkid to the American market at a time when Afrobeats was yet to enjoy the global recognition it has today.
The Grammy-nominated artiste also reflected on missing the opportunity to sign Canadian rap superstar Drake around 2008, saying the financial terms made the deal impossible.
“Drake was the only one I had a shoutout at, and I wanted it to become official. It wasn’t that I didn’t see the vision that he was going to be big; he just wasn’t big then and was requesting a whopping $1 million to sign for me,” he said.
Akon explained that Drake’s music at the time did not yet reflect the sound that would later propel him to international stardom.
“He was the Drake that sounded like Eminem. The records of him that they played were sounding like that of Eminem, but then later when he did ‘Best I Ever Had’, that was when I got really into him. By that time it was too late. He was too expensive. I don’t have a million dollars,” he said.
Wizkid, born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, was discovered by Banky W in 2009 and signed to Empire Mates Entertainment (EME), where he rose to prominence with his breakout single “Holla at Your Boy” from his debut album, Superstar.
He later established his own label, Starboy Entertainment, in 2013 after leaving EME and has since become one of Africa’s biggest music exports, collaborating with global stars including Drake, Beyoncé, Chris Brown, Tems, Skepta and Justin Bieber.
