Adedokun Waliyu 
Starboy said the Afrobeat genre is a refreshing alternative for people stuck with the same sound for years.
As the Afrobeat music genre continues in its quest to take over the world, Nigerian superstar Ayo Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, has said he is one of its fiercest proponents.
In a recent interview with 10 Magazine, a British luxury quarterly magazine, Starboy said the Afrobeats genre is innovative and a refreshing alternative for people stuck with the same sound for years.
Describing the genre as the new pop, the singer said he doesn’t listen to rap music.
He said: “Afrobeats is the new pop. I sold two million copies in America off of one song! Even some American artistes don’t have a diamond record. If I’m being honest, I don’t listen to any other genre of music anymore.
“I don’t listen to rap; that shit is boring. It’s dead now; it’s tired. These guys do the same shit, rap on the same beats, same flows,” he said.
He also said that the Afrobeats genre consistently produces high-quality hits compared to others.
“No disrespect to nobody. I don’t have anything against rap or any other type of music. I have a lot of rappers as friends, like a lot. So I’m probably the wrong person to say this,” Wizkid added.
The artiste, who just released his album, ‘More Love Less Ego’ also said that he regards himself as an up-and-coming artiste.
Speaking during the interview, he said that he doesn’t feel accomplished because he views life from a different perspective.
“I’m an up-and-coming artist. I don’t think I will ever feel like an accomplished artist or person because I see life differently. I still have a lot of work to do,” he said
As a young chap, always being around older adults not only helped him grow faster but also sharpened his ear for good music.
According to the ‘Ojuelegba’ singer, he grew up listening to Fuji and Juju artistes like King Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey.
It helped him develop a knack for melodies and remember tunes that would become key learning for how they feature in his songs now.
“They just stuck to me. Somebody’s song that I didn’t even know I knew, I hear them again, and the melodies come to me. I’ll be like, ‘Shit; I remember that from when I was young,’” he said.
In addition, the fact that he grew up with 12 older sisters helped him develop a persona for hanging out with older people.
“When I was 11, my best friend was, like, 40. He used to own a business down my street, and every time I’d come back from school, I’d go sit with him, help him sell some stuff, chill.”
“I’d always tell my mom about him, so she told me to bring him to the house. When I brought him, she saw one old man and was like, ‘What’s going on here!?’ Just hanging around grown people, seeing how life works, really helped me grow up faster,” he added.
The 32-year-old artiste is signed to RCA Records, Empire Mates Entertainment, and Disturbing London Records and runs his imprint, Starboy Entertainment.
Although the label has just two artistes, Starboy label’s Terri and LAX, and works with producers DJ Tunez, Legendury Beatz, and Maleek Berry, Wizkid says he is ready for expansion.
Wizkid said he is set to expand Starboy Entertainment to the levels of Roc Nation, owned by Jay Z, Ovo, owned by Drake, Universal, Sony, RCA and other global music brands
