I made Wizkid Global – Akon reveals

Akon has credited himself with playing a pivotal role in launching the international career of Nigerian Afrobeats star Wizkid.

Akon said when he signed Wizkid to his label in 2008, the artist was still relatively unknown outside of Nigeria.

Akon claims that his efforts helped refine Wizkid’s craft and introduced him to a broader global market.

Akon also believes that his work with Nigerian artists in the late 2000s and early 2010s was instrumental in bringing Afrobeats to its current level of global recognition.

He asserts that he brought a business-oriented approach to the genre, which was previously lacking in infrastructure and commercial strategy.

Akon stated that without his contributions, Afrobeats might still be in the same position it was in when he first entered the Nigerian music scene.

Akon said …

“In 2008, I spent my time in Nigeria developing what you see today as Afrobeats. And all of them can attest to it

“Wizkid was the first [Nigerian] artist we signed officially at that time. And then we went on to sign a group called P-Square, which was the first [Nigerian] group that made it internationally.

“Wizkid was just the local Nigerian star before we touched him and it opened up to a bigger market. I wouldn’t want to take credit for all of it but I can tell you that if we didn’t do what we did, Afrobeats would still have been in the same position it was when we got there [Nigeria in 2008]. That I can tell you 100 per cent.

“I brought the business side of music to Afrobeats because all they [Nigerian artists at that time] knew about was the creative [side of music]. There was no business, no infrastructure, none of it attached to it.”