Many Influences of Wizard Chan

In a recent episode of Afrobeats Intelligence with Joey Akan — the renowned Nigerian music journalist and founder of the podcast that documents the inner workings of Afrobeats — music video director, Director Pink, spoke candidly about what she admires about Wizard Chan. “I love Wizard Chan,” she said. “If you’re brave enough to stay unique and incorporate culture, you’ll find people that will connect with you, your core fans.”

It’s a fitting way to describe Wizard Chan, born Fuayefika Maxwell, who is a proudly Ijaw artiste whose music is deeply rooted in traditional storytelling and sound. Fusing gyration with Highlife, Reggae, Hip-Hop, Soul, Folk, and African Pop, he has created a sonic identity he calls Afro-Teme, a genre that, in his words, blends spiritual and cultural elements to “tell deep and godly stories in local sounds.”

But Wizard Chan’s artistry isn’t just in the music. His all-black fashion, strikingly symbolic, is a protest against the idea that darkness is evil, a philosophy he explains with depth and conviction: “God was comfortable in the darkness. He gave us light, yes, but He didn’t take the darkness away. The world is built on that balance.”

Since the release of his breakout hit Earth Song, which won the Headies Alternative Song of the Year in 2023, to his viral new single Oliver, which has fans skanking and raving, Wizard Chan has built a devoted community that’s following more than just his sound. They’re faithfully following a spiritual message, and a story rooted in culture and tradition.

In this exclusive conversation with The Nollywood Reporter, Wizard Chan talks about musical growth, cultural pride, the meaning behind Oliver, the stereotype that wrongly labels his music as fraternity sound, and what to expect from his debut album “The Healer’s Chapel.”

Let’s start from the beginning. How did Fuayefika Maxwell become Wizard Chan?

Wizard Chan: In the beginning, I was just a kid who was very curious about anything creative, anything that involved creating something new. That’s how I’ve always been, even from childhood. I loved entertainment so much.

At some point, I realized I had a deep love for storytelling. But not in the traditional sense, like writing books or essays. I discovered that my kind of storytelling had to come with melodies. I enjoyed putting words into melodies to tell stories.

I first noticed this when I was in junior secondary school two (JSS2). The very first song I ever wrote was a tribute to someone who passed away in school. That just shows how deeply rooted music has been in my life; it wasn’t something I picked up just to sound deep or trendy.

After secondary school, I began to take music seriously. Around 2011, I started going to the studio, trying to hone my craft and really understand what I wanted to do with it. Later, I moved to Ghana for university, and it was around that time, 2014, I believe, that the name “Wizard” was born. A while later, we added “Chan” to it, and it just stuck from then on.

What were your early musical influences growing up in Port Harcourt, and how did they shape your sound?

For me, it’s always been about the local music, wherever I find myself. Whether it was Port Harcourt, Sokoto where I did my NYSC, or anywhere else, I was never heavily influenced by mainstream music.

In Port Harcourt, we have a genre called gyration music, which originates from the riverine areas. That sound has been a huge influence on me. Sadly, gyration music today is often stereotyped as “fraternity music,” and that perception deeply hurts me. It’s disrespectful to a whole culture and way of life. It’s like calling Fuji or Juju music “cultist music” just because certain groups used it. That kind of misrepresentation really gets to me because it disrespects the people it comes from.

Gyration music is raw and real and so the authenticity influenced me heavily. Beyond that, I was also inspired by legends like Cardinal Rex Lawson, who I consider the Fela of the South-South. He was a highlife icon, respected even by Fela himself. He toured Nigeria, toured the UK, but never really tried to “crossover,” which is why many people today don’t know his legacy.

Later in life, I began listening to more Pop and Reggae music. There’s also a genre called Bakana Teke Wari, which means “prayer house songs.” These are spiritual chants we used to sing during deliverance services in church, in our native language. A lot of my own chants and vocal inflexions today come from that tradition. Of course, I also listened to global acts like Awilo Longomba, Wyclef Jean, Bob Marley, and Lucky Dube. I fell in love with Wyclef and Lucky Dube as I got older. Then Damian Marley, who I consider the greatest of all time. From Nigeria, 2Face Idibia is the greatest, in my opinion, musically, no one comes close. And on the continental level, artistes like Miriam Makeba and Brenda Fassie also played a part in shaping my ears and my soul.

Your music blends Reggae, Highlife, Hip-Hop, and Soul so seamlessly. How intentional is that genre fusion, and how would you personally describe your sound?

I call my sound Afro-Teme. And just to be clear, this isn’t me trying to downplay Afrobeats in any way. Sometimes when artistes try to define their sound differently, people think we’re trying to distance ourselves from Afrobeats or discredit it. That’s not it at all.

The truth is, Afrobeats is an umbrella; it is a broad category. Just like you can’t say I make the same music as Wizkid, Burna Boy, or Davido, but we’re all Afrobeats artistes; yes, but not by sound. It’s more by association. Our sounds are different, and that’s where sub-genres come in. That’s why we have terms like Afro-rave, Afro-fusion, and now Afro-Teme.

Teme means “spirit” in my language, and Afro-Teme is the spiritual, soul-rooted side of Afrobeats. It’s like Afro-dura, the way people describe Seyi Vibez’s music. However, mine is specific to the South, a genre where I blend Highlife, Reggae, Hip-Hop, and local Port Harcourt sounds like gyration, among others.

It’s not just about mixing genres for the sake of it; it’s about telling deeply spiritual and godly stories through these sounds. That’s the essence of Afro-Teme. It’s where rhythm meets soul, and culture meets spirit.

Your song, “Oliver” is everywhere right now; can you walk us through the making of that song? What inspired it?

Yeah, “Oliver” was a record I made right where I’m currently sitting in my dining table. I didn’t even make it in the studio.

What inspired it was that I wanted to make up-tempo music but still rooted in gyration. So I called my producer and told him, “Yo, there’s this melody in my head. I don’t know, but it sounds really good.” I told him I wanted it to be gyration, so we started with the percussion, classic gyration percussion.

He then brought in the idea of using a dancehall bassline. If you listen to the track, that’s exactly what the bass is doing: it’s playing dancehall. The guitar is playing highlife. So we fused gyration, highlife, and dancehall. Then we added a bit of trap percussion to mix with the gyration drums. That’s the fourth genre. And I was singing pure reggae on it, which makes it five genres in one song.

The idea behind the lyrics originated from the story of Oliver Twist, which is about a character always wanting more. I wanted to discuss desire and excess but also convey a message that money is vanity; yes, but we still need it for our well-being.

African music is always accompanied by a message. Even if you get the sound but not the message, then you haven’t really captured Africa. So, for me, mixing all these genres wasn’t enough; I had to make sure the song said something.

That’s why I said in “Oliver Twist” that, “Oliver Twist dey learn from me / I want more, I wan dey cheat economics / I need that ST kind money… .” It’s a catchy, but there’s a message behind the vibe.

Your fashion style, all black, is striking. What inspired that look, and how does fashion tie into your music?

What inspired it was actually something that felt like a protest in my own house. There was this mindset I kept hearing that anything black is evil. And I’ve never agreed with that.

Black is not evil. Darkness is not evil. If it were, God Almighty wouldn’t have created it or left it for us. People often forget that, according to the Bible, before creation, the earth was formless and void, and God was moving over the darkness. He was comfortable in it because He is supreme. But He also understood that human beings might not be able to comprehend darkness the way He does, so He gave us light to help us understand it. Still, He didn’t remove the darkness. That shows you how important both are; now, we have day and night constantly rotating. That’s balance.

Even in nature, plants can’t survive on sunlight alone, they need darkness too. There’s a balance in everything. I believe God created this world to be balanced, and we humans sometimes forget that. If everything were all light and all white, life would be boring. The contrast, the adventure, that’s what gives meaning. So, for me, wearing black isn’t about looking dark or being mysterious. It’s about rejecting the stereotype, especially the one we see a lot in Africa that blackness is evil. I just don’t subscribe to that mindset.

Fans call you “The Native Doctor” and even “Big Masquerade.” How do you feel about those nicknames, and do you see yourself playing into them more in the future?

I absolutely love them. I can hardly put into words how much I love the name Big Masquerade. I remember, one day, I wore my masquerade outfit and posted a video on Instagram – I was dancing on stage – and captioned it “masquerade dance.” After that, people just started calling me Big Masquerade, and it stuck. And, honestly, every time I hear it, I feel a different aura, especially when I’m performing. When I step on stage, I feel like a masquerade on display, carrying energy, mystery, and presence.

As for Native Doctor, I love that too. In my language, it means “healer of souls.” People often misinterpret it but, to me, it’s deeply spiritual and powerful. It reflects the kind of healing energy I want my music to bring. Even my mom calls me Big Masquerade, Opu Owu in our language. So it’s not just a stage persona, it’s something personal and cultural. We have Wizkid, who people call Big Wiz, we have Odogwu, and so on. So, I’m the Biggest Masquerade. And I wear that proudly.

From your first blown hit song “Earth Song,” which won a Headies alternative song award in 2023, to your new releases  now, how would you describe your growth as an artiste?

Honestly, my growth as an artiste has been wonderful, and I’m really thankful to God Almighty for giving me the opportunity to grow, because that opportunity is something not everyone gets.

Sometimes, a song blows up with 50 or 100 million streams, but that doesn’t always guarantee growth. “Earth Song” didn’t achieve those crazy numbers. It’s done around 10 million on Spotify, but what it gave me was space to grow. And that’s something I value deeply. Because when you blow up instantly, there’s pressure to keep chasing that level. But those big moments often come from algorithms or massive machinery pushing you, not necessarily from the artiste’s control. For me, “Earth Song” gave me a strong foundation without that overwhelming pressure. It allowed me to evolve naturally.

After that, I dropped “Loner” with Joeboy, which became an even bigger record in terms of numbers. Then came my EP, which did really well. After that, I released “Big Masquerade,” my most controversial record to date. Then there was “Flako,” with Odumodu Blvck, one of my smash records that always gets crazy reactions during performances. And now we have “Oliver.”

I’m just really happy that people can see the growth, not just in terms of one big song, but in the journey. People have grown with me. I’ve built a fanbase that loves Wizard, not just the hits. People who genuinely want to come to my shows, who connect with me as an artiste, you can’t trade that kind of growth for just streaming numbers. Never.

Your music has a spiritual and soulful energy. Are there specific messages or values you always aim to communicate?

Yeah, definitely! There’s a lot I try to communicate but, above all, I love to talk about God. That’s why it makes me laugh when people stereotype my music as “fraternity music.” If you actually listen to my lyrics, you’ll hear a lot of Bible quotes and references. My producer is literally a pastor, for crying out loud! I may not be the kind of Christian who attends church every Sunday, but I was born into the Christian faith, and I know who God is to me. I believe in God deeply.

I call myself the messenger, the healer, because I believe God gave me this gift to pass messages to the world. Messages of love, brotherly love, agape love. I also enjoy discussing healing and navigating life. For example, I have a song called “Demons and Angels,” where I talk about fighting your demons and embracing your angels. That’s what my music is about, helping people reflect, heal, and move through life with some kind of light.

Is there a full-length project on the way, like an album or EP? What should fans expect next from Wizard Chan?

Yes, fans should expect my debut album; it’s coming this September. I’ve dropped EPs before, like “The Messenger” and “Time Traveller”, but this will be my first full-length album.

The album is titled “The Healer’s Chapel.” I genuinely believe it’ll be one of the best albums Nigeria has ever seen. It’s going to heal many people. Anyone who listens to it will understand exactly what I mean.

Are there any artistes, local or international, you’re hoping to collaborate with soon?

I’d really love to collaborate with Burna Boy. That’s definitely high on my list. Outside Nigeria, I’d love to work with Damian Marley, Jay-Z, Skepta, Stormzy… there are so many amazing artistes I’d love to collaborate with. The list is long, but those ones stand out for me right now.

In a time when many artistes are leaning toward Western or foreign sounds to gain global appeal, you’ve embraced your roots both sonically and visually. What are your thoughts on artistes holding on to their culture versus trying to sound “global” or foreign?

My thoughts are simple. Whatever you decide to do with your life and your sound is in your hands. Just pray to God to guide those decisions.

For me personally, I had the option to chase a Western sound. When “Earth Song” blew up, many people didn’t even know I was Nigerian. I was having conversations with people abroad, and it would’ve been easy to switch up my sound. But I reminded myself: no matter what happens, I will always be Nigerian. And I want to have a home to come back to, people who see me, appreciate me, and recognize me for who I truly am.

People talk about “global sound,” but what does that even mean? A global sound is just any sound that goes global. It doesn’t have to sound American. We’re Africans, and we are in the globe. So our sound — in its rawest form — can also be global.

Look at the chants from “The Lion King,” those South African vocal textures, that’s not American, but the whole world knows it. It became global because it connected on a deep level. Yes, it’s harder here. Yes, it might be easier to break through when you’re already in those markets. But you don’t need to change who you are. One of the reasons people will want to work with you is because you stayed true to yourself. That’s also why you’ll last.

Look at the Latinos, they have crazy numbers, and they didn’t change their sound. Same with the Jamaicans. They took their sound, exported it, and let it speak for itself. That’s the point: don’t change the product. Just export it.