There are moments that feel just perfect, seeming like they are brought to life in a terse writers’ room after months of brainstorming; with a script fit for the big screens. Such cinematic instances are always flush with overarching storylines and cryptic backstories that make the protagonist’s victory all the more gratifying. And the protagonist in this play certainly had to overcome a number of challenges to ascend the heights he has scaled, but, when he put his soul into that first song that we all loved, something changed. We were introduced to an utterly utopian ideal that ushered in a new era for Nigerian music: the debut of Wizkid. 10 years ago, this month, Wizkid blessed the world with his debut single, Holla At Your Boy, and nothing was the same.
It was not that he was necessarily breaking new grounds or introducing the audience to never-before-perceived planes of music, his energy was just pure and contagious. From the moment the track starts playing, the velvet smooth voice and joyful mischievousness of Wizkid take center stage spinning a world of love interjected with lust that ultimately, became the tonic of the 2010s. “If you see me drive by, holla at your boy/ I got more swag, holla at your boy,” he sings, before adding, “I pop more bottles, holla at your boy/Chilling with models, holla at your boy.” In true Nigerian music fashion, Wiz intuitively blends attraction and materialism with charming effectiveness that does not disrupt flow.
Upon, its release, Holla At Your Boy – produced by DJ Klem and Vebee – lasered to the top of charts across Nigeria and established Wizkid as, probably, the first true break-out star of the 2010s. Before the internet proliferation in the mid-2010s, Wizkid had scrawny teenagers mouthing Holla At Your Boy word for word as the song played across stations on TV and radio. It almost appeared like the whole country was caught off guard with the infectious bop, falling all at once for the warm glow of his music. Additionally, Wizkid was the quintessential lover for a generation of girls whose fixation on him began with the mid-tempo brilliance of Holla At Your Boy. Like a young charmer, Wizkid reminded us all of the fluffy, head-spinning power of love and that was all that mattered in 2010.
The video for Holla At Your Boy featuring Wizkid at school with friends, his love interest, and Banky W as a father figure packs cultural significance with a number of players – such as Skales, Ice Prince, and Asa Asika – who would have an impact on the Nigerian music scene in the future making appearances. But Wizkid was the obvious attraction. The Starboy. Serving as the definition of cool within skinny jeans, basketball hats and plaid shirts that served as inspiration for a generation of young men trying to copy his fashion style. Moving beyond the fashion, the music became a motif for youth lifestyle in Africa’s most populous nation. The song enmeshed itself into the fabric of society – high and low – demanding to be sung along to, whether alone wistfully; or with a group of friends as love seems on the horizon, almost within one’s grasp.
The popularity of Holla At Your Boy was nonetheless helped by the fact that it was dominantly recorded in English and that fact would likely have encouraged parents to allow their children to listen to this cool record that appeared and sounded so alien to the times it was released in. In the ten years since its release, Holla At Your Boy has not lost its replay value or its ability to conjure up emotions despite all the years that have passed.
The 10th anniversary of Holla At Your Boy is a grand opportunity to go on YouTube once more and listen to Wizkid before all the trappings of wealth creep in, before the paranoia of being a targeted public figure appears, and before the responsibility of fatherhood is factored in. Holla At Your Boy is and would always be a genius moment, a rare moment when the music muses touch a gifted soul to give the world timeless music.
All those years ago, Wizkid was the first one in. The first in 2010 to give music that would transcend a generation of listeners. He also closed out 2019 with his surprise release, Soundman Vol 1, and has moved from up-and-comer to cultural giant during the decade. There have been changes, evolutions, feuds, love went wrong, and different iterations of Wizkid but Holla At Your Boy will always be a justifiable reference point for today’s superstar. For many, that adorable cute 19-year-old would always remain.