Ayo Ayoku better known by his stage name Wani, is an American-Nigerian

Alté Alté (locally pronounced as "uhl-teh"), is a fusion genre of music that combines elements of afrobeats, dancehall, reggae, hip hop, and alternative R&B. The term was coined in the 2010s by Nigerian music group DRB LasGidi, meaning alternative a ...

musician. In 2018, he came into the music scene with a widely acclaimed EP ''Lagos City Vice'', with lead song "China Designer", a remake of Tekno's "Be", which became controversial in September 2019, after

Sarz Osabuohien Osaretin (born 17 March 1989), better known by his stage name Sarz, is a Nigerian record producer and musician. Born in Benin City, Edo State, he is popularly known for the tag Sarz On The Beat/"Really", at the beginning or end of all ...

called him out, for his royalty, following the success of the song, reaching 1 million streams in July 2019.

Early life

Ayo Ayoku was born in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

and spent his early years in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, before relocating to

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

. He began his music career as an audio engineer in Chicago, where he worked as an engineer for various artists. In an interview with

Clash magazine ''Clash'' is a music and fashion magazine and website based in the United Kingdom. It is published four times a year by Music Republic Ltd, whose predecessor Clash Music Ltd went into liquidation. The magazine won the Best New Magazine award in ...

author Shahzaib, he said "I came back to Lagos with 500 dollars in my pocket and five songs that would later turn into 'Lagos City Vice'".

Career

In 2017, he launched his music career on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

, with a cover version of

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

's " Blem", which went viral on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. Shortly after he relocated to

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, he went on to release ''Lagos City Vice'' EP, on 4 May 2018. In review for

The Native ''The Native'' (stylized in all caps) is a Nigerian-based music magazine publishing in Lagos. Founded in 2016, ''The Native'' focuses primarily on music, style, and art, championing the sounds and culture of tomorrow: today. History ''The N ...

, Debola Abimbolu said "Lagos City Vice is the truest mark of Afropop 2.0". The project spawned the hit track "China Designer", which reached 1 million streams on

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

in July 2019. On 5 July 2019, he released the music video of "China Designer", directed by Xamani. In 2018, he opened for Skepta, and

Wizkid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. A prominent figure in the modern-day Afrobeats music scene, Wizkid is regarded as one of the biggest and most influential Afri ...

at the Nativeland concert. On 25 January 2019, "China Designer" was on the soundtrack list of

Skinny Girl in Transit ''Skinny Girl in Transit'' is a Nigerian Comedy webseries by NdaniTV. The first episode was released on NdaniTV's YouTube page on 16 Jul 2015. The idea for the series was pitched by Temi Balogun. The series returned to NdaniTV for its fifth seaso ...

Season 5, Episode 12. In 2019, he opened for

Wande Coal Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe (born 18 October 1985), popularly known as Wande Coal, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Early life Wande Coal was born on 18 October 1985 in Lagos Island, Lagos state, Nigeria, to Chief Ibukun Olufunto and Omolar ...

, at

Gidi Culture Festival The Gidi Culture Festival (often dubbed Coachella in Lagos) is an annual one-day music and arts festival that takes place in Lagos, Nigeria. Co-founded by Chinedu Okeke and Oriteme Banigo, it was created in response to a demand from the local yo ...

. On 29 November 2019, he released "No Love" featuring Prettyboy D-O, and "Fast Life" featuring Minz. On 24 April 2020, he appeared on DRB LasGidi's album ''Pioneers'' on the song "I Swear". According to

, "He steals the entire show with his reflective lyrics and impressive vocals, where he gives us a lesson on the importance of vulnerability and resilience". On 24 September 2020, he released "All My Ladies", produced by Adey. According to Soundcity TV, "All My Ladies is an eclectic mid-tempo bop, that takes listeners on a journey through musical history". In 2020, he signed a distribution deal, with

's Platoon. On 23 July 2021, he released "Times Two (X2)", featuring Buju, as the first lead single off ''Lagos City Vice 2'', extended play. The music video, was released same day on

, directed by Onari for Pressars Collective, and shot in Lagos, Nigeria. On 4 November 2021, he released "Jailer", as the second lead single off ''Lagos City Vice 2'', extended play. On 19 November 2021, he released his most anticipated extended play ''Lagos City Vice 2'', independently through

's Platoon, with guest appearances from BUJU, Prettyboy D-O, and

Show Dem Camp Show Dem Camp (SDC) is a Nigerian rap duo composed of Wale Davies (Tec) and Olumide Ayeni (Ghost) Personal lives The duo were born in Nigeria but lived and grew up in European cities and the United States before returning to Lagos to pursue a c ...

. The ep was executively produced by WANI (credited as Ayo Ayoku), Dipo Sadipe and Tobi Akinkunmi, the Marketing and Communications Manager of

Universal Music Nigeria Universal Music Group Nigeria (UMGNG) is the West African division of the global record label Universal Music Group. Founded in 2017, it has its corporate headquarters located in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. The label has signed at least seve ...

with additional production from Trill Xoe, Adey, Bizzouch, Steph, Ransom Beatz, Wonda Magik, and Higo. The PGM radio show, included the project in their list of Top 21 albums of 2021. Precious Williams, who reviewed the album for the list, wrote "Wani is transparent with his journey as he navigates the life of an independent artist and the vices of Lagos city". On 2 December 2021, Wani shared his playlist with

, titled ''Road to LCV2'', powered by Platoon, the

playlist, features songs from

Aṣa Bukola Elemide (born 17 September 1982"There's 'Fire O ...

Gyptian Windel Beneto Edwards (born 25 October 1983), better known by his stage name Gyptian (), is a Jamaican reggae singer. He often appears with roots reggae songs within the reggae subgenre dancehall. Early life Born to a Seventh-day Adventist ...

Angélique Kidjo Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (; born July 14, 1960), known as Angélique Kidjo, is a Beninese singer-songwriter, actress, and activist who is noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. ...

Stonebwoy Livingstone Etse Satekla (born 5 March 1988), better known by his stage name Stonebwoy, is a Ghanaian Afropop, dancehall and reggae musician. He is the CEO of Burniton Music Group. He won the Best International Act: Africa category at the 2015 B ...

Burna Boy Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album, ''L.I. ...

, Outkast, Prettyboy D-O, Mooski,

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ''Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, after which he has re ...

, Skillibeng, The Remedies,

Serani Craig Serani Marsh (born 7 June 1982), known professionally as Serani, is a Jamaican dancehall singer and producer who has a joint venture deal with Phase One Communications in NYC. He is best known for his involvement in Sean Paul's album ''T ...

, and Santana.

Controversy

On 17 February 2020, a fan tweeted his song "Fast Life", and another described Wani, as the new school

Iyanya Iyanya Onoyom Mbuk (born 31 October 1986), known by his stage name Iyanya, is a Nigerian Afropop recording artist. Career He rose to fame after winning the first season of ''Project Fame West Africa'' and is best known for his hit single " Kuk ...

, to which he responded with a tweet "God Forbid", and became a controversial topic on Twitter. On 31 December 2020, Wani tweeted "I don't want to end the year without saying this, Iyanya I apologize for my comment earlier this year".

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As featured artist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wani Living people English-language singers from Nigeria Nigerian pop singers Nigerian rhythm and blues singers 21st-century Nigerian male singers Year of birth missing (living people) Nigerian alté singers