Wizkid releases sixth album ‘Morayo’ in tribute to late mother

Grammy-winning Nigerian artiste Ayodeji Balogun, famously known by his stage name Wizkid, has unveiled his sixth studio album, “Morayo“. The album is a deeply personal tribute to his mother, Jane Balogun, who died in August 2023.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the much-anticipated 16-track album was released on streaming platforms on Friday.

The tracks include hit songs — Troubled Mind, Karamo, Kese (Dance), Bad Girl, Time, Piece of My Heart and Pray, with collaborations

featuring Asake, Brent Faiyaz, Jazmine Sullivan, Anaïs and Tiakola.

Wizkid had earlier in June, in a video message shared on his social media page, told his fans that the album was to honour his late mother. He also shared insights into the album’s production, revealing that it was a deeply personal and emotional journey for him.

He said, “My album ‘Morayo’, dedicated to my mum, the love of my life, drops very soon. Don’t dull. Don’t sleep.”

In another post on his X handle, he wrote: “Morayo! Friday, 22 November.”

However, in October, the ace singer dropped a track from the album “Piece of My Heart,” featuring American singer and songwriter Brent Faiyaz, for his curious fans.

The soul-stirring track, ‘Piece of My Heart,’ immediately made history on Spotify, setting a new record for the biggest first-day stream of any song, with a staggering 1.01 million streams.

Wizkid

Wizkid broke the record he previously shared with Asake for their chart-topping single “MMS” from Asake’s “Lungu Boy” album, making.

“Piece of My Heart” Africa’s first song to surpass one million opening day streams on Spotify.

Wizkid, born in Surulere, Lagos, started his music career at 11 and released a collaborative album with Glorious Five, a group formed with Church friends.

His evolution from a local artiste to a global brand is a testament to his talent and hard work.

Among other feats, Wizkid became the first Nigerian musician to have over one million followers on X in 2014.

He became the first Afrobeat artiste to appear in the 2018 Guinness World Records for his contribution to “One Dance”, and his song “Soco” became his first Afrobeat single to be certified gold in Canada.

In mid-2019, Wizkid was featured on Beyonce’s “Brown Skin Girl”, taken from the acclaimed “The Lion King: The Gift” soundtrack, which earned

him his first Grammy Award, among other nominations and awards.

Besides “Morayo”, his studio albums include Superstar (2011), Ayo(2014), Sounds from the Other Side(2017), Made in Lagos(2020) and More Love Less Hate (2022).

(NAN)