Credit: Cassidy Velmech

Wizkid has confirmed the title of his seventh studio album as Sexy. This was announced to a room full of music and culture’s brightest and biggest stars during an exclusive pre-release party hosted by Deeds Magazine at Cova Club in Paris on Thursday, June 25.

The Grammy-winning singer, born Ayodeji Balogun, took to the mic himself to break the news. “Paris, let me hear you say ‘yeah yeah.’ Yeah, we got the new album coming out,” he told the crowd. “Real soon, and the name of the album is ‘Sexy,’ baby.” No release date or tracklist has been confirmed. The reveal followed weeks of speculation after Wizkid posted a single cryptic word on X - “Album” - alongside studio photos taken with Pharrell Williams in France.

The Paris event, part of Deeds’ Fashion Week takeover, drew a packed room of heavy-hitters from the world of music, culture, and sports including Shallipopi, Alvin Kamara, Quavo, Blaqbonez, Musa Keys, Young Jonn, Tiakola, Pasuma, Smallgod, BabyDaiz, Baby Wacko, and many more. Despite being billed as an album listening party, attendees reportedly heard no new music from Sexy itself  - Wizkid spent much of the night dancing to older records, including a moment vibing alongside Shallipopi to the rapper’s hit “Laho.” One fan summed up the mood online: “Only Wizkid will do an album listening party where no songs on the album are played or listened to. Lmao, he’s still as unserious as ever.”

Fans have already begun theorising about the album’s direction based on the title alone. Several pointed to a possible R&B turn, while others connected the reveal to a line Ayra Starr dropped during her press run for their collaboration ‘Gimme Dat,’ when she crowned Wizkid “the king of sexy Afrobeats.” That nickname now reads less like a compliment and more like a preview.

Sexy will be Wizkid’s seventh studio album, following ‘Morayo’ (2024), which honoured his late mother Jane Dolapo Balogun. His catalogue spans ‘Superstar’ (2011), ‘Ayo’ (2014), ‘Sound From The Other Side’ (2017), ‘Made In Lagos’ (2020) and ‘More Love, Less Ego’ (2022). The announcement arrives during a milestone year for the singer, who is marking 15 years since his breakout and will headline Afro+ Fest in Washington, D.C. this September to commemorate the anniversary.

Credit: Cassidy Velmech
IG: @sophiannadozie