Nigerian Afrobeats star Ayodeji Balogun, known as Wizkid, has set a fresh record: he’s the first African artiste to hit 11 billion streams on Spotify.
The news came Tuesday from music data handle @ChaftsAfrica on X (formerly Twitter), which named him the milestone holder. The post reads:
“First African artists to reach major Spotify milestones:
“1 billion — Wizkid, 2 billion — Wizkid,
3 billion — Wizkid, 4 billion — Wizkid,
5 billion — Wizkid, 6 billion — Wizkid,
7 billion — Wizkid, 8 billion — Wizkid,
9 billion — Wizkid, 10 billion — Wizkid,
11 billion — Wizkid.”
The 11 billion mark arrived just days after Wizkid’s May 15 collaboration with DJ Tunez, “State of Mind,” which notched more than 685,000 Spotify streams worldwide in its first day. Earlier in January, “Big Wiz” became the first African artiste to reach 10 billion streams on Spotify.
Entertainment insiders and fans have hailed the new milestone as another big moment for African music on the global stage.
