Wizkid Nearly Quit Music — Jada P Reveals The Untold Story Behind His Darkest Hour

The recent HBO documentary, Long Live Lagos, now available on Max, provides an authentic, uncensored glimpse into the creation of Wizkid’s historic sold-out concert, following his achievement as the first Afrobeats performer to headline a venue of such enormous scale.

However, beneath the worldwide acclaim, a personal crisis nearly caused everything to collapse.

Through personal interviews featured in the documentary, Jada Pollock, Wizkid’s long-standing manager and romantic partner, reveals the tremendous strain the Afrobeats superstar faced, disclosing that a heartbreaking family emergency brought him dangerously close to abandoning his music career completely.

Jada P, age 42, who has served as Wizkid’s manager for eight years and been romantically involved with him for six years (the couple has two sons together, Zion and AJ), opened up about the emotional upheaval surrounding the performance.

The concert featured in the documentary occurred on July 29, 2023.

“He wanted to quit a lot,” Jada admits in the documentary.

The emergency arose from learning that Wizkid’s cherished mother needed urgent cancer treatment precisely when concert preparations reached their most intense phase.

Related: Wizkid Says Someone Considered As Enemy Is On His New Album

The revelation hit with crushing force. Production team members, including presenter Julie Adenuga, believed the performance would be canceled.

“When the news of his mom’s state broke, the organizers believed the show was cancelled,” Adenuga recalls in the film.

“They were expecting an email to say it’s not happening anymore.”

However, Jada describes the determined strength that motivated Big Wiz to press forward:

“It was a time where I felt like he was forced to reflect. But Wiz realises that this show will open so many doors for artists coming up under Wiz; for executives to understand the reach of the sound; and for every kid back home that is dreaming of becoming Wiz. It’s going to give them a dream to know that it’s possible to get there.”

Wizkid eventually performed to uplift the coming generation, executing a legendary show, although his mother sadly died only weeks afterward, on August 18, 2023.

This groundbreaking concert marked Wizkid as the first African performer to sell out London’s 60,000-seat Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The show was included in his “More Love, Less Ego” tour and featured a playlist combining his timeless favorites like ‘Ojuelegba’ and ‘Don’t Dull’ alongside more recent songs such as ‘Essence’ and ‘Joro.’