As the popular saying aptly puts it, “Behind every successful man is a woman.” In the case of music superstar Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, a.k.a Wizkid, that woman has always been his mother. Mrs Jane Dolapo Balogun, also known as Mama Wizkid, gained prominence in 2010 as Machala’s sweet mother shortly after he shot to Stardom with his hit song, Holla at Your Boy. In a 2012 interview with Tim Westwood on BBC Radio 1, Wizkid revealed that he was born in Surulere, Lagos and raised by a Christian mother and Muslim father. According to Afrobeat star, his father, Alhaji Muniru Olatunji Balogun, married three wives, his mother being one of them.
For a large polygamous home with 12 children, Big Wiz’s mother showered all her love and attention on her kids, which would become his claim to fame years later. Mrs Jane Balogun, a graduate of Social Science from the University of Lagos, is from the Shitta-Bey family in Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria. During her lifetime, she was a successful businesswoman known for her entrepreneurial ventures. From a very young age, Mama Wizkid started encouraging Wizkid’s interest in music, using profits from her business to buy him musical instruments and then supporting his participation in the church choir. At the age of 11, Mama Wizkid’s financial contribution would see the singer release a collaborative album with the Glorious Five, a musical group Wizkid and four other friends founded together.
Madam Jane Balogun’s support stayed strong in the following years as she bought into her son’s dream and vision. Unsurprisingly, her financial contribution would help the Star Boy stay consistent in his fight for national and global acclamation. Finally, in 2010, months after signing a deal with Record Label EME, Big Wiz shot into the limelight. Indeed it was a dream come true for mother and son.
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