Akon Claims He Elevated Wizkid from Local Star to Global Icon

Senegalese American music mogul Akon has stirred conversation across the Afrobeats world with bold claims about his role in shaping the careers of top Nigerian artists most notably, Wizkid.

During a recent appearance on the Bagfuel Brigade podcast, Akon stated that Wizkid was just a “local Nigerian star” before he signed him in 2008 and helped propel him into the international spotlight.

“Wizkid Was Local Until We Touched Him”  Akon Speaks

“In 2008, I spent my time in Nigeria developing what you see today as Afrobeats,” Akon said. “Wizkid was the first Nigerian artist we signed officially at that time He was just local before we touched him, and it opened up to a bigger market.”

Also Read: How Wizkid Silently Became Nigeria’s Most Powerful Global Brand Without Saying a Word

The Locked Up hitmaker didn’t stop there. He also claimed responsibility for helping open global doors for Afrobeats by signing other big names like P-Square, a Nigerian music duo that went on to enjoy international fame.

Akon emphasized that while Nigerian artists had the talent, they lacked the business infrastructure to scale globally. “I brought the business side of music to Afrobeats. There was no structure, no infrastructure. All they had was the creativity,” he said.

He credited his involvement from the late 2000s into the early 2010s as the turning point for the genre’s explosion on the world stage.

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While some fans agree that Akon played a role in connecting Afrobeats to Western markets, others argue that the genre’s global success was built on years of hard work by Nigerian artists and producers.

Wizkid, who today is considered one of the genre’s biggest exports, has yet to respond to Akon’s comments but social media is already ablaze with debates over the legitimacy of Akon’s claims.

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Whether you view him as a visionary or simply a contributor, there’s no denying Akon’s footprint in the early international exposure of Afrobeats. But in a genre built on resilience, creativity, and homegrown energy, many fans believe the true credit belongs to the artists who never stopped pushing forward regardless of who “brushed them up.”