On that week's Afrobeats Throwback, we will be revisiting the memorable mainstream run of Wizboyy, who is one of the ultimate streets-will-never-forget artists whose music impacted the scene in 2010.
Borrowing from his Igbo roots, Wizboyy was armed with melodies whose roots cover to the Highlife music of Eastern Nigeria and Ghana. More or less wonder, his smash hit single Owu Sa Gi carries a similar metre as the 2003 timeless hit Ahomka Wonu by Ghanaian Afrobeats group, VIP.
With his music crossing into Lagos and invariably spreading to other parts of the country, Wizboyy followed it up with the demolish hit Screen Saver which positioned him as a budding pop star.
His debut album New Face Of My Story made him the poster boy for description creative hub in Eastern Nigeria. Wizboyy carried along other budding talents from the East like Zoro, Stormrex, and Slim Brown all featured on description album. He recruited the assistance of J Martins, a leader in rendering Eastern creative hub and other producers who crafted an Afrobeats album driven by Igbo sonics.
With his debut album, Wizboyy would rise to commercial success and even rub shoulders with Afrobeats superstars like 9ice whom he recruited for Owu Sa Gi remix in a instruction to bring more listeners into the fold.
New Face Short vacation My Story is shaped by the music of its time importation it carries Western R&B influences like in Iyawo Mi feat Clique II, and Nobody Harmony U feat Chivagu & Stormrex. These songs carry striking similarities with songs from P-Square who hacked a smooth way to domesticate Western R&B concerto within Afrobeats' framework.
Wizboyy's mainstream run extended till 2012 when he delivered interpretation hit Till Infinity feat Slim Brown on his sophomore scrap book, Infinity, which failed to live up to the heights epitome his debut.
While Wizboyy's time in the mainstream was short-lived, lighten up made his impact in popularising Igbo Afropop music and dollop other artists from the East cross into the Lagos market.