Fifteen years after it first reached Nigerian ears, Wizkid’s debut album, Superstar, has crossed 100 million streams on Spotify.
The milestone also completes a set. All six of Wizkid’s studio albums now sit above the 100 million mark on the platform. Reports also describe Superstar as the most streamed African album released in 2011 on Spotify.
Released on June 12, 2011 through Banky W’s Empire Mates Entertainment, Superstar arrived as one of the most anticipated Nigerian albums of its year. It was a young Ayodeji Balogun’s formal introduction to the country he would go on to conquer, built around records that had already been moving through Lagos streets and campuses for months. “Holla at Your Boy” lit the fuse, “Tease Me/Bad Guys” and “Don’t Dull” kept it burning, and “Love My Baby,” “Pakurumo” and “Oluwa Lo Ni” made sure the album lived well beyond its first season. Wande Coal, D’Prince, Banky W and Skales added their voices along the way.
What makes the number striking is where it comes from. This is not a record boosted by a global campaign or a viral moment. It is a 2011 project, from a time when Nigerian music was still fighting for room on the world stage, now pulling in new listeners every day and sitting comfortably beside albums that were built for the streaming era.
It also fits the larger Wizkid story this year. He became the first African artist to pass 10 billion Spotify streams across all credits in January, and he has reportedly since climbed past 12 billion. The Superstar milestone shows that the base of that catalogue is still doing its part.
For longtime fans, it is a full circle moment. The album that started it all now carries the same milestone as everything that came after it.