The global Afrobeats scene is addicted to noise: new singles every Friday, TikTok challenges every week, and endless social media chatter. Then there is the unspoken pressure for artists to live online as much as they live in the studio. Everyone is performing. Everyone is talking. Everyone is available.
Except Wizkid.
This is a man whose run includes earning a Grammy Award for his collaboration with Beyoncé on “Brown Skin Girl.” His 2020 smash “Essence,” featuring Tems, was the ultimate crossover moment, becoming the first Nigerian song to chart on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Global 200.
Further cementing his global influence, Wizkid holds a Guinness World Record thanks to his writing contribution to Drake’s record-breaking hit, “One Dance.” Critically, his Made In Lagos album achieved Gold certification in both the U.S. and the U.K., with “Essence” securing multiple Platinum certifications, achievements that were unprecedented for an African artist. All this work culminated in him being the first African artist to surpass 20 billion global audio-on-demand streams. Prolific is an understatement.
But Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, the man who helped globalise Afrobeats, has spent the past few years mastering the art of disappearance.
Since 2022, Wizkid has existed almost like a ghost. He has granted little to no interviews, no media rounds, no unnecessary statements, no attention-seeking antics. The 35-year-old icon appears when it matters and fades just as fast.
However, in 2025, Wizkid isn’t exactly quiet. He’s just strategic. After nearly two years of creative invisibility, Starboy has quietly staged a takeover, dropping features across continents while maintaining the same mysterious, almost royal distance. Wizkid’s silence isn’t weakness, it’s his most powerful move yet.
Is He Really Silent? Or Just Loud in His Own Way?
Wizkid has built his entire empire around selective visibility. He doesn’t flood the internet with selfies or snippets.
Some say Wizkid moves like a sniper; he makes one post, one comment, one perfectly timed clapback, then nothing. And yes, sometimes that shot is aimed squarely at his longtime rival, Davido.
E no go better for davido and him feelings! ❤️🦅 https://t.co/2hEyaLdduz
— Wizkid (@wizkidayo) October 2, 2024
Others describe him as Afrobeats’ untouchable enigma.
To truly understand Wizkid’s silence, one must contrast it with the aggressive youth he left behind.
In his early years, Wizkid was famously hot-headed, sparring routinely on X(formerly Twitter) with anyone who dared to ‘misyarn’ towards his path.
My people make una remember say Yankee passport no be baba blue, e no dey cure frog voice. 🐸🐸
— Wizkid (@wizkidayo) July 5, 2017
*Arsenal is a very dead team..oya beat me!.RT @gentlelily87:@wizkidayo: plzzzz dnt u eva say d@!EVA!!!do u copy?RTOk Arsenal is a dead team!
— Wizkid (@wizkidayo) September 25, 2010
Back then, unfiltered online confrontations were a large part of his brand. This relentless visibility and willingness to engage directly with his audience and rivals is partly how he accrued his loyal fanbase, Wizkid FC, who still regularly go to battle online on his behalf.
Does his current silence signal growth? Absolutely! The Starboy himself provided the philosophical framework for this evolution. In a profound November 2022 interview with The Guardian, Wizkid detailed the necessary fracturing of his identity, a concept reminiscent of how Beyoncé once discussed her alter ego, Sasha Fierce.
“I treat [Wizkid] as a million-dollar company, man. It’s a business, not me,” he told the publication. This quote clarifies the entire strategic withdrawal.
The silence is the CEO protecting the brand. He acknowledges the battle for visibility remains, admitting: “Most of the time, I don’t want cameras in my face. But I understand why I have to. That’s one of the things I still battle with. I just want to live a normal life.”
As with Beyoncé, there is a level of dissociation between his public and private identities. As he grows older, he yearns for authenticity: “I would love for people to get 100% Wiz Ayo Balogun. To give people one [person], the true me in my realest form.”
The silence is the negotiation between the two men.
The most fascinating, and perhaps, maybe frustrating thing about Wizkid’s silence is the quiet contradiction behind it.
Donald trump is not your business!
Old man! Police/Sarz still killing
Nigerian youth on a daily! Do something!
Nothing concern u for America!
Face your country !! https://t.co/thxmoYb7VE— Wizkid (@wizkidayo) October 4, 2020
“I’m about to go crazy on their asses this election,” he told The Guardian, referencing the upcoming 2023 elections. His message to the political class was sharp: “All these old men are going out of power this time. They need to go to an old people’s home and chill out.”
