No one is doing it like Wizkid right now. With two Grammy nominations, sold-out shows across the world, and an inescapable global smash hit that cracked the Billboard Hot 100 and became the official song of the summer, Wizkid has had a pretty stellar year. While the rest of the world might be whining their waist and screaming “you don’t need no other body”, day ones like us who knew Ayodeji back when he wore carrot jeans, know that our boy’s discography is untouchable. Here’s a pretty accurate ranking of Big W’s best songs.
Note: It’s our list, if you don’t like it, you can catch us outside.
10. Beat of Life (Samba) with Sarz
We decided to start with the most gingered song on this list. While Sarz has proven that he’s not our mate, back in 2012, he was just the sweet-looking producer who successfully fused Afrobeats and EDM to create this massive banger that rocked our world. Did we know the meaning of “Samba”? No. But that didn’t stop us from popping our booties on the dance floor.
9. Anoti
When Wiz announced a deluxe version of Made in Lagos, some of us were scared he would ruin a near-perfect album with filler tracks, but alas, we were wrong. The standout track from this new version has become one of our favorite Wizkid songs. You know a song is a jam when it comes with a dance move. While Wizkid might have started the dance craze by chance, placing Anoti on this list was 100% intentional on our part.
8. Energy with Skepta
No one can tell you nonsense when this jam comes on. Looking back, this song and Fever gave us a taste of what to expect from Made in Lagos—cool, stress-free vibes. Energy does its best to remind us to just relazz and be taken kiaroff, because this life is one and we only deal with positive vibes.
7. Sweet Love
Sounds from the Otherside is undoubtedly one of Wizkid’s most underrated albums and a record way ahead of its time. The album’s opening track is also one of the hottest Wizkid tracks. Complete with saxophones reminiscent of Fela when he wasn’t dragging the government, Sweet Love deserved way better and we’re ready to fight anyone who disagrees.
6. Jaiye Jaiye with Femi Kuti
A combination of Afrobeat and afrobeats, Jaiye Jaiye is one of the best tracks off Wizkid’s self-titled album, Ayo. The Sarz-produced track finds Wizkid holding his own alongside powerhouse legend, Femi Kuti. This song also reminds us that any free money we get, we should use it for enjoyment and ball for two. When we’re talking about iconic Wizkid songs, this is one of the first songs that come to mind.
5. Pakurumo
It banged then and it still bangs now. We all danced and lost our home training as Wizkid listed all the female Yoruba names he could find. This song, complete with its video, gave us the ultimate party vibe. A piece of advice, if you go to an owambe and you don’t hear this song, omo, there’s a strong chance their jollof rice won’t slap. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
4. On Top Your Matter
Yoruba men are known for having “sweet mouths” and here, we find Wizkid tapping into his inner Yoruba playboy journal. He first offers his life to his lover like a pack of small chops and as if that’s not enough, he goes ahead to compare her beauty to the queen mothers of the sea. Well, it’s a jam and we’re still obsessed five years later.
3. No Lele
“Ojuelegba shita. Ask your sister. My music travel, no visa.” The opening line of this song says it all. Wizkid knows who he is and to be honest, he’s not wrong.
2. Essence with Tems
Yes, finally. We know you’ve been waiting for this moment. Breathe, you’ve won.
If there’s one song that defined 2021, it’s Wizkid’s Essence. This song is an earworm so wormy, it almost borders on annoying. But you know what? Try as we might, we can’t deny how much this song hits our brains and waists. With Tems providing the sonic heartbeat for this song, Essence has undoubtedly changed the game for afrobeats and we couldn’t be happier.
1. Ojuelegba
Inspired by his humble beginnings, this is the song that shot Wizkid into the global music space. If there’s one thing we all relate to as Nigerians, it’s finding hope despite our struggles and no song captures this hope better than Ojuelegba. Famously remixed by Drake and Skepta way before One Dance and Energy, it would be hard to compile a list of iconic Nigerian songs without throwing this hit into the mix.
