burna boy parents biography

• Accessibility
• Fact Checking

Burna Boy Family: Who Are His Parents And Siblings?

Burna Boy, born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, is a Nigerian Afrofusion sensation whose journey from the 2012 hit “Like to Party” to global stardom with albums like “Twice as Tall” (2020) has solidified his place as a musical powerhouse.

His unique blend of Afrobeats, reggae, and dancehall has garnered international acclaim, with collaborations alongside artists like Beyoncé and Grammy-winning success.

Beyond music, Burna Boy is a vocal advocate for social justice and pan-Africanism, earning him multiple BET Awards and a Grammy for Best Global Music Album.

His influence extends to fashion, making him a trendsetter. Burna Boy’s ongoing evolution promises to leave an indelible mark on the global music landscape.

Also Read: Kurt Russell Brother And Sister – Who Are His Siblings?

Burna Boy Family: Parents Bose Ogulu and Samuel Ogulu

Burna Boy’s roots trace back to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, where he was born to Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu on July 2, 1991.

His parents, Bose Ogulu and Samuel Ogulu, played pivotal roles in shaping his upbringing. Bose, his mother, worked as a language translator, while his father, Samuel, managed a wedding company.

The influence of music ran deep in Burna Boy’s family, as his maternal grandfather, Benson Idonije, once managed the legendary Fela Kuti.

Eventually, Bose Ogulu transitioned from being a language translator to becoming Burna Boy’s manager, guiding him through his remarkable career.

Bose Ogulu, affectionately known as Mama Burna, has been a driving force behind Burna Boy’s success.

Managing him with a keen eye for diligence and hard work, she draws parallels with the title of “momager” made famous by Kris Jenner.

Bose’s journey as a manager was influenced by her father’s experience managing Fela Kuti, and she is not only a manager but also an accomplished businesswoman and linguist.

Burna Boy’s success, from headlining sold-out stadium shows to topping global charts, has been a collaborative effort between mother and son.

Burna Boy credits his family for their unwavering support and guidance. Mama Burna, who had the foresight to recognize Burna Boy’s potential since he was a teenager, made sacrifices, such as stepping away from her language school.

The family’s support extended to accepting Burna Boy’s decision to drop out of university to pursue his music career, a move that ultimately paid off as he went on to win a Grammy and tour the world.

Burna Boy’s family continues to be his pillar of strength, emphasizing that there’s always a higher level to achieve in their focus on reaching greater milestones together.

Burna Boy Siblings: Nissi and Ronami

In the Ogulu family, Burna Boy isn’t the sole star; his siblings, Nissi and Ronami, are making names for themselves in their respective creative endeavors.

Nissi Ogulu, Burna Boy’s younger sister, is a multifaceted artist known for her unique blend of soulful and alternative R&B.

Despite the challenges of carving a niche in the music industry with a famous brother, Nissi has embraced her individuality. Her educational background in mechanical engineering and design highlights her intellectual and creative prowess.

Beyond music, Nissi has ventured into animation, establishing “Creele Animation Studios” and collaborating with artists like Odunsi the Engine and Lady Donli.

Ronami Ogulu, the youngest sibling, opts for a more private path. She works as a stylist, playing a pivotal role in managing Burna Boy’s wardrobe for public appearances, performances, and tours.

Her influence extends beyond fashion, contributing to the family’s overall creative ecosystem with her keen sense of style and attention to detail.

Ronami’s preference for privacy doesn’t diminish her significance within the family dynamics, where each sibling, despite pursuing different careers, remains close-knit.

The dynamics between Burna Boy and his siblings reflect a supportive family unit navigating the challenges of the entertainment industry.

Nissi has openly discussed the impact of having a globally renowned brother, acknowledging the pressure it brings to her journey as a musician.

Despite this, collaboration and support within the family are evident, with Nissi making appearances in Burna Boy’s music videos.

Together, the Ogulu siblings showcase a diverse range of talents within the family, each contributing to their unique stories of dedication, creativity, and finding their spaces in the creative landscape.

Also Read: Is Luke Combs Catholic Or Christian? Religion And Family Background

• Bishnu celebrates fashion as a form of rebellion and self-expression, encouraging readers to break free from societal norms.
• He takes to the streets to capture the raw energy and individuality of street fashion.

With a background in fashion design and a passion for pushing the boundaries of style, Bishnu brings a fresh and daring perspective to his role as a fashion maverick. He is dedicated to inspiring readers to embrace their individuality and express themselves boldly through fashion.

What Happened To Ryan Gosling In The Fall Guy? Colt Seavers Role Explained

Who is eva evans boyfriend dating life explored, who was chris king rapper wikipedia age and height, leave a reply cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Most Popular

The little girl from the mountains michelle dowd wikipedia and age, mark scheifele wife: is he married to dara howell.

Band of Outsiders is a lifestyle and entertainment news platform, featuring articles on beauty tips, culture, fashion, modeling, and celebrity news, along with sections for new arrivals and trending topics in the fashion industry.

Contact us: [email protected]

POPULAR CATEGORY

• Celebrity 901
• Trending 602
• Family Member 383

© Band of Outsiders 2024

• Our Accessibility Statement
• Terms And Conditions
• Privacy Policy

Global site navigation

• Capital Market
• Celebrities
• Celebrity biographies
• Messages - Wishes - Quotes
• Family and Relationships

Local editions

• Legit Nigeria News
• Legit Hausa News
• Legit Spanish News
• Legit French News

Burna Boy’s biography: age, family, state of origin, net worth

Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, popularly known by his stage name Burna Boy is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He first gained public recognition in 2012 after releasing his hit single Like to Party, which became the lead single of his debut album, L.I.F.E . His other popular songs include Tonight and Run My Race .

Burna Boy is one of the most successful Nigerian musicians of all time. With his fusion of dancehall, reggae, afrobeat, and pop, he has won numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award in 2021. He is currently signed to an American record label called Atlantic Records. He is also the founder and CEO of Spaceship Records, a Nigerian-based record label.

Profile summary

Who is Alvin Kamara’s girlfriend? Get to know Te'a Cooper

Burna Boy’s biography

The popular singer was born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Burna Boy’s parents are Bose (mother) and Samuel Ogulu (father). His mother worked as a translator for the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce, while his father worked in a welding company.

His maternal grandfather, the broadcaster and jazz enthusiast Benson Idonije, managed the late Nigerian music legend, Fela Kuti.

The singer grew up alongside two sisters, Jehovah-Nissi and Ronami. His younger sister Nissi is a singer, graphic artist, entrepreneur, and mechanical engineer. His older sister Ronami is a scientist and designer.

He had his primary education at Montessori International School before he proceeded to Corona Secondary School in Agbara, Ogun State , for his secondary education. He later relocated to the United Kingdom to further his studies. He enrolled at the University Of Sussex and pursued Media Technology from 2008 to 2009. He also studied Media Communications and Culture at Oxford Brookes University from 2009 to 2010.

Joshua Mike-Bamiloye’s biography: age, wife, child, net worth

How old is Burna Boy?

The Nigerian singer is 31 years old as of 2023. When was Burna Boy born? He was born on 2 July 1991. His zodiac sign is Cancer.

What is Burna Boy’s profession?

Burna Boy is a singer, songwriter, and record producer. His music is mainly pop and afrobeat. He describes his music as Afro-fusion, which blends the genres of R&B, hip-hop, dancehall, and reggae. Burna Boy started creating music at just ten years old using FruityLoops, a production software that his fellow classmate gave him. The singer launched his music career in 2010 and released his first record Shobeedo in 2011.

On 12 August 2013, he released his debut studio album, L.I.F.E , under the Aristokrat record label. The album featured hit singles like Like to Party and Tonight. The album gained Burna Boy immense popularity in Nigeria, and it was nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. It also peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart in August 2013.

Who is Bekah Liechty? All about the star of the Girl Named Tom

Burna Boy has since released other songs and albums, including On a Spaceship and Outside . He has also collaborated with some of the most prominent and influential artists in the Nigerian music industry, such as Reminisce, Wizkid, Timaya, and Olamide . Burna Boy is currently signed to an American record label called Atlantic Records. He is also the founder and CEO of Spaceship Records.

What is Burna Boy’s net worth?

The Nigerian singer has an alleged net worth of $17 million. His wealth is attributed to his music career, endorsements, and investments.

Who is Burna Boy’s wife?

The Grammy award-winning singer is not married and therefore does not have a wife. He is currently presumed single. The musician has, however, been in a romantic relationship with Stefflon Don, a British singer, and songwriter. The two began dating in 2018 and broke up in 2022. The rapper has also been romantically linked with Princess Shyngle and Jo Pearl.

Tanner Buchanan’s GF timeline: who has he dated over the years?

What is Burna Boy’s height?

The popular Nigerian entertainer stands at 6 feet 1 inch or 185 centimetres tall. He weighs approximately 185 pounds or 84 kilograms.

Fast facts about Burna Boy

• Who is Burna Boy? He is a Nigerian singer , songwriter, and record producer best known for his hit single Like To Party.
• Where is Burna Boy from? He was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
• What is Burna Boy’s state of origin? He is from Rivers State.
• What is Burna Boy’s age? The singer is 31 years old as of 2023. He was born on 2 July 1991.
• Does Burna Boy have a twin brother? No, the singer does not have a twin brother.
• Does Burna Boy have children? No, he has no children.
• Does Burna Boy have a sister? Yes, he has two sisters, Jehovah-Nissi and Ronami.
• Who are Burna Boy’s parents? His father is Samuel, and his mother is Bose.

Who is Richard Rawlings' spouse, Katerina Rawlings? Get to know her

Burna Boy is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer who has made a name for himself in the music industry. He rose to fame after releasing his hit single Like to Party in 2012. He has released five studio albums to date, and his music has been streamed billions of times across various platforms. The artist has achieved great success in his career, having won multiple awards.

Legit.ng recently published Crystal Blease’s biography . She is an American entrepreneur and social media influencer. She was born on 26 September 2000 in Chicago, Illinois, United States, but currently resides in Houston, Texas, USA.

Crystal Blease is best recognized on social media for uploading captivating content, including dance, lip-syncs, pranks, fashion and beauty tips, travel vlogs, and lifestyle videos. As a result, she boasts significant popularity across various social media pages. She is also known for being Polo G’s ex-girlfriend.

Source: Legit.ng

Night Mongina (Lifestyle writer) Night Mongina is an article writer with an experience of three years. She has been working as a writer in Legit.ng since August 2021. She won the Writer of the Year Award on Legit in 2023. Night worked with (KNA) Kenya News Agency as a freelance writer (2016-2017). She graduated with a Diploma in Health Records and Information from Kisii University in 2018. In 2023, Night finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques. In March 2024, she completed the Google News Initiative course. Email: [email protected]

DNB Stories Africa

Entertainment, lifestyle and general information.

Burna Boy Biography: Age, Marriage, Wife and Children

Who is Burna Boy?

Burna Boy is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He sings the African-fusion genre and has been likened to the legendary Afro-Pop singer, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

Burna Boy is often referred to as “Oluwa Burna” by his fans and music lovers. He is currently one of the biggest and globally recognised Nigerian entertainers with a lot of awards and recognition to his name.

Burna Boy’s childhood and education

Burna Boy’s full name is Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu. He was born on July 2, 1991, as the first of three children in Ahoada, a city in the Port-Harcourt area of Rivers State.

Burna Boy is 30 years old, as of February 2022. His parents are Mr Samuel Ogulu and Mrs Bose Ogulu. Burna Boy’s mother, Bose, is the daughter of Benson Idonije who was an ex-manager of Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

Is Burna Boy Yoruba?

The Port-Harcourt-born singer was speculated to be of Yoruba descent due to his Yoruba-infused name, but it has been revealed that Burna Boy’s Yoruba name came from his maternal lineage as his mother also has a Yoruba name.

The 30-year-old singer had his early education at Montessori International School before he proceeded to Corona Secondary School, Agbara, Ogun State for his secondary education.

Burna Boy relocated to London for his tertiary education, studying Media Technology at the University of Sussex before proceeding to Oxford Brookes University to obtain a degree in Media Communications and Culture.

How Burna Boy started his singing career

Burna Boy returned to Nigeria in 2010 to start his music career professionally, though it was said that he had started making beats at the age of 10 using the sound production app called “Fruityloops” which was given to him by his friend and classmate of that time.

He came into prominence in 2012 after releasing the hit single “Like To Party” which later became the lead single of his debut album “L.I.F.E”, released on August 12, 2013. The album was produced by LeriQ.

Burna Boy’s wiki profile

Burna Boy’s marriage and wedding

As of the time of writing this report, Burna Boy is not married and does not have a wife.

The singer has, however, been romantically involved with a number of women, including the likes of Stefflon Don, Princess Shyngle , and another lady Identified as Jo Pearl.

Full story of all Burna Boy’s relationships

Burna Boy’s relationship with Stefflon Don

Burna Boy started his relationship with Stefflon Don in 2018 but went public with it in February 2019. According to reports gathered by DNB Stories Africa , Stefflon Don was the first to publicize the relationship in 2019.

The ex-lovers had met at a show in Ghana in December 2018. Stefflon had missed her flight at that time and had decided to attend a concert in the country which turned out to be that of Burna Boy. They met after the show and their affair kicked off from there.

Their relationship seems quite peaceful and full of love until August 2019 when Burna Boy was accused of infidelity. It was said that he was cheating on Stefflon with his Ghanaian ex-girlfriend, Princess Shyngle. However, Stefflon Don came to his rescue, debunking the rumour.

Burna Boy was called out again in December 2020 by a lady named Jo Pearl in a video alleging that they have been in a relationship even before he started dating Stefflon Don.

Burna Boy and Stefflon Don finally broke up in 2021 and both parties unfollowed each other on social media, according to reports. It remains unclear what exactly led to their separation.

The first speculations of their break-up began after Burna Boy posted on his Instagram Stories on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, that he has no wife. Stefflon reacted to Burna’s post saying that money and fame change people no matter how much love and loyalty you treat them with.

Neither of both parties has openly addressed the reports of their breakup and separation.

Burna Boy’s relationship with Jo Pearl

Burna Boy’s romantic engagement with Jo Pearl made waves in the media after she posted a tell-it-all video in November 2020 highlighting how she started her relationship with the singer and how things turned sour between them.

According to Pearl, she and Burna had been lovers before he even started dating Stefflon Don. She explained that Burna Boy had sent her a message on Instagram a couple of years ago and it took her about 2 weeks to reply after much persuasion from her friends. She explained that they met physically at his pop-up show in the United Kingdom.

The lady explained that Burna had approached her in a very sweet manner and they started their affair from there, describing it as love at first sight. She claimed to have later moved in with him in his London home and went everywhere with him.

She further explained that their relationship became shaky after Burna Boy returned to Nigeria and she couldn’t reach him for a while. She said the singer later reached out to her saying he has been hospitalized for a while and reassured her of his love.

Jo Pearl made it known that she had wanted to visit the singer in Nigeria but was prevented by some family members. She explained that she began to hear of his relationship with Stefflon Don after they argued in December. She stated that they patched things up and continued with the relationship but never talked about his relationship with Stefflon Don.

The young lady made it known that she had to talk about the relationship on social media because her silence over it is affecting her mental health, even though she added that she has moved on with her life.

Jo Pearl biography

Jo Pearl is a British model and businesswoman. She is the CEO of Snatched By Jo Pearl, an online store where she sells waist trainers and other kinds of intimate wear.

Jo was born on August 5, 1997, in London. She started her modelling carer in 2018 and has over 40,000 followers on her IG page.

Burna Boy’s relationship with Princess Shyngle

Burna Boy’s relationship with curvy Ghanaian-based actress Princess Shyngle had mostly been speculative, until the actress took to her Instagram page in March 2021 to confirm that she actually dated the singer.

In her post, she referred to Burna Boy as her “ex” and shared a screenshot of both of them having a video call.

Burna Boy’s children

As of the time of publishing this article (February 2022), Burna Boy has no child. He is not married and also does not have a baby mama.

Does Burna Boy have a baby mama?

Surprisingly, Burna Boy, unlike most musicians of his age and status, does not have a baby mama, as of February 2022.

Related posts:

• Burna Boy updated net worth – 2022
• Meet Jo Pearl – Burna Boy’s alleged side chick
• Full list of Burna Boy’s achievements in music so far
• See the origin of the ‘beef’ between BBNaija Vee and Burna Boy
• Full biography of BBNaija Princess and other facts about her
• ‘Thin-waist’ actress Princess Shyngle confirms she dated Burna Boy in Instagram post
• Ola – The Tale of a Young Moon Maiden by Daniel Nkado
• Short Story: A Twist of Love!
• Raising sons the right way in Africa
• The Other Side of Love by Daniel Nkado

Related Posts

All about Ayo Edebiri’s origin, parents, marriage, partner, kids

August 22, 2024 August 22, 2024

How I got my Romanian citizenship with Migration Centr

August 21, 2024 August 21, 2024

All about Jeremy Allen White’s Marriage, Wife, Kids

August 20, 2024

About Hannah Idowu

Hannah Idowu is a Mass Communication graduate, writer and tutor. She is an avid reader and book collector.

2 Comments on “Burna Boy Biography: Age, Marriage, Wife and Children”

Not a good story

I initially thought Burna is from the west. Surprise to learn he is from Rivers. Nice story though.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Nigerian Singer, Songwriter and Producer

• Burna Boy is a 33-year-old Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer
• Born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, his real name is Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu
• He grew up in Southern Nigeria and began making music using FL Studio
• His debut studio album ‘L.I.F.E’ was released in 2013
• He won the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album in 2021
• Find out more about Burna Boy in our in-depth biography article

Burna Boy (born 2 July 1991) is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer.

He started making his own music when he was a youngster and moved to the UK after completing high school, before returning to his native Nigeria to launch his career in the music industry.

After releasing his debut album ‘L.I.F.E’ in August 2013, he quickly rose to prominence and his fifth studio album ‘Twice As Tall’ won him the Best Global Music Album prize at the 2021 Grammy Awards.

His music has been described by critics as “savvy and modern but undistracted by obvious crossover moves” by critics.

This article is going to delve into the biography of Burna Boy, looking at his early life and upbringing, and focusing on his journey to becoming one of world music’s top talents who has now collaborated with the likes of Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and Jorja Smith .

Jump To Section

Early Life And Background

Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu was born on 2 July 1991 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. His father, Samuel, worked in construction, while his mother, Bose, was a translator for the West African Chambers of Commerce. Oguli himself has described his upbringing as being “not too rich, not poor”. Damini’s sister, Nissi Ogulu, is also a singer and songwriter.

It’s fair to say that Ogulu comes from a musical family. At one point, his grandfather managed Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. Burna Boy also credits his grandfather for introducing him to the Afrobeats genre.

Asked what a typical weekend looked like when he was growing up, he replied : “My grandfather playing Afrobeat, usually Fela [Kuti], my dad working on the barbecue, and my mum just causing a scene. And me trying to find a corner to smoke some weed.”

Reflecting on his connection to his native homeland, he said in a 2019 interview : “Nigerians love me a lot more now because they can see that the whole world likes me, too. They think I’m something special, but I’m not. I’m just a human whose skill is making music. Way I see it, everyone plays their own role in the world, and no role is more important than the other.”

Burna Boy, who attended high school near Lagos (Corona Secondary School in Agbara), first started making his own music when he was around 10 years old, after a classmate gave him a copy of the production software FL Studio. He started experimenting and making his own beats on an old computer as he developed a passion for creating his own music.

Burna Boy won the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album in 2021 (Photo: Bartholomeus Houdijk / depositphotos.com)

After he graduated high school, he moved to the UK to continue his education. He studied Media Technology at the University of Sussex between 2008 and 2009, and later Media Communications and Culture at Oxford Brookes University between 2009 and 2010. He spent much of his time in the UK in Brixton in London, where he picked up the Brixton Patois accent that became a signature of his musical style.

After studying in the UK, Burna Boy returned to Nigeria and completed a one-year internship with radio station Rhythm 93.7 FM Port Harcourt before officially launching his music career.

(Photo: Burna Boy / YouTube / Screenshot)

Debut Studio Album And Grammy Award

After putting out a number of mixtapes and singles, Burna Boy released his debut studio album ‘L.I.F.E.’ on 12 August 2013. The album, which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart, was released on label Aristokrat Records. His second studio album ‘On a Spaceship’ was released on 25 November 2015, and his third studio album ‘Outside’ followed on 26 January 2018.

In 2017 , he signed to Bad Habit / Atlantic Records in the United States and Warner Music International internationally, apart from Africa, where he continues to release music on his own Spaceship Entertainment label.

His fourth studio album ‘African Giant’ was released on 26 July 2019. ‘African Giant’ won Album of the Year at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards and was nominated for the Best World Music Album prize at the 2020 Grammy Awards.

His fifth studio album ‘Twice As Tall’ was released on 14 August 2020 to critical acclaim. He won Best International Act at the 2020 MOBO Awards, and ‘Twice As Tall’ won the Best Global Music Album prize at the 2021 Grammy Awards.

The Grammy nomination described the album as “a masterclass in the vibe and hustle that have made Burna Boy an international musical force. [He] continues to torch limitations, seamlessly blending styles and genres and fearlessly fuelling the fire heating the melting pot of pop, Afrobeat, dancehall, reggae and more.”

His next album ‘Love, Damini’ was released on 8 July 2022, with his seventh studio album ‘I Told Them…’ following on 25 August 2023.

Burna Boy was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in Nigeria (Photo: Xavier Collin / imagepressagency / Depositphotos.com)

As A Featured Artist

As well as rising to prominence via his own releases, Burna Boy has been a featured artist on a number of tracks over the years.

In August 2019, he was featured on the popular single ‘Be Honest’ by British singer and songwriter Jorja Smith. The single sold more than 600,000 copies in the UK and peaked at number eight on the UK Singles chart. In the same year, he was a featured artist with Ed Sheeran on the track ‘Own It’ by Stormzy. In 2020, he also featured on tracks by Sam Smith, Wizkid and Master KG.

Musical Influences And Inspiration

When he was growing up, he was introduced to artists including Naughty By Nature, DMX, Big Pun and Busta Rhymes by his uncle.

He has previously cited Jamaican deejay Super Cat as one of his top influences. “That’s my favourite artist. That’s the person that persuaded me to listen to anything reggae or dancehall.”

In 2017, he signed to Bad Habit / Atlantic Records in the United States (Photo: Bartholomeus Houdijk / depositphotos.com)

Burna Boy Facts And FAQs

What is burna boy’s real name.

Burna Boy’s birth name is Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu.

How old is Burna Boy?

Burna Boy is currently 33 years old. He was born on 2 July 1991.

Where is Burna Boy from?

He was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in Nigeria. These days, he splits his time between Nigeria, Los Angeles and London.

Who are Burna Boy’s parents and siblings?

His father, Samuel, worked in construction. His mother, Bose, worked as a language translator and later managed her son’s music career. He has a sister named Nissi, who is also a singer and songwriter.

Where did Burna Boy go to school?

He attended Montessori International primary school in Port Harcourt (1993 to 2002) and Corona Secondary School, Lagos (2002 to 2008).

What genre of music is Burna Boy?

His music has been classified into various categories, including Afrobeats, Reggae, Dancehall, Pop and Hip-Hop.

Asked about his own style of music, he replied : “At the end of the day, I do not make music with the intention of trying to sound reggae, or dancehall, to sound like a type of genre. It’s just who I am.”

What language does Burna Boy sing in?

He sings in a mix of Yoruba, Igbo and pidgin English.

In another interview in 2019, he said of his own music: “It’s funny, most Americans don’t even understand what I’m saying in my records, but they pick up on the vibe, the vibration.”

What label is Burna Boy signed to?

He signed with Bad Habit / Atlantic Records in the United States and Warner Music Group internationally in 2017. He has also released music on labels including Aristokrat Records and Spaceship Entertainment (his own enterprise).

Where can I follow Burna Boy and listen to his music?

You can follow Burna Boy on social media including Instagram and Facebook . You can listen to his music on Spotify , Soundcloud and via other online streaming services.

• Page first published: 1 December 2023
• Last updated: 5 December 2023
• Next review due: 20251201

Related Articles

Holly Humberstone

Julia Michaels

Get news, helpful information and updates from us, delivered directly into your email inbox.

By signing up, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from MelodyFlare. Your personal data will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy .

• Sign Up (2)

Keep Up With Global Black News

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox.

• f2fafrica.com

Bose Ogulu: Four facts about Burna Boy’s mom, who shaped his music career for the better

Bose Ogulu, Burna Boy’s mother and manager, was on Monday named as one of the 2021 International Power Players by Billboard. Billboard’s International Power Players list recognizes industry leaders nominated by their companies and peers and selected by Billboard’s editors, with primary responsibility outside the United States, Billboard said . Honorees include label executives, music publishers, independent entrepreneurs, artist managers and concert promoters.

Ogulu, also known as Mama Burna, was recognized for her work amid the 2020 pandemic, when she co-executive-produced, released and promoted the Twice As Tall album for her Grammy award-winning son, Burna Boy, Billboard said.

Signed to Bad Habit/Atlantic in the United States, and Warner Music International for territories outside of Africa, Burna Boy’s Twice As Tall album won in the Best Global Music Album category at the 2021 Grammy Awards. With several global performances, awards, appearances as well as features to his name, Burna Boy has literally been all over the place – for all the right reasons though. And through it all, his mom has been by his side, helping boost his career.

RELATED STORIES

Meet the first female to earn a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Ghana

LSU star and rapper Flau’jae is building generational wealth early, purchases first piece of land at 20

Meet the Belize-born composer who has made history being appointed Master of the King's Music by King Charles

Meet the high school teacher whose viral classroom decor was recognized by Disney star

But what more do we know about Mama Burna, who managed his superstar son until 2014 and then became his manager again from 2017 onwards?

‘Expect More Madness’

Ogulu first made major headlines at the 2018 Soundcity Awards when she uttered those words while helping her son collect his four awards. Social media went agog with her delivery at the awards show, and soon she was being hailed as the real MVP and everyone’s favorite internet mom.

Her father was Fela Kuti’s first band manager

Born into the famous Indonije family, Olugu’s father, Benson Idonije, was a popular radio host and Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti’s first band manager. Getting exposed to the music industry and the Nigerian art world at a young age, Ogulu was inspired to study languages. With a Bachelor of Arts in foreign languages and a Masters of Arts in translation from the University of Port Harcourt, she worked as a translator for the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce. She subsequently became CEO of Language Bridges, a language and music school from 1997 to 2015 where she organized cultural immersion trips for over 1,800 young people. She also taught French for 10 years at the University of Education in Port Harcourt. Today, the academic and professional speaks French, Italian, German, English, and Yoruba.

Friends with her children

Ogulu has been married to Samuel Ogulu for 29 years. They have three children: Ronami, Damini (Burna Boy) and Nissi. Being friends with her parents, Ogulu also learned to be friends with her own children. She leaned into their big ideas and directed them on how they can embrace those ideas with hard work and dedication. Today, that has paid off. Two of her children, Burna Boy and Nissi, are among Africa’s biggest music stars. Ogulu manages both of them.

Spaceship Collective

Aside from management, Ogulu has also set up a publishing company through Spaceship Collective to enable Africans to own their own catalogs “so that the authenticity of our stories, our glory, our culture is sustained,” she said, “and we are empowered.” Spaceship Collective, which is also a record label, has signed and produced many amazing music artistes chief of whom is her son, Burna Boy.

Conversations

Help us create more content like this

Subscribe to premium

Already a member? Sign in.

Connect with us

Join our Mailing List to Receive Updates

Biography Web

Celebrities Bio, News & Profile

Nigerian Singer

Table of Contents

Burna Boy (Nigerian Singer)

Discography, burna boy biography.

Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu , Popularly known as Burna Boy , is a Nigerian Singer and Songwriter, from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. he was born on 2nd July 1991, in Port Harcourt to Nigerian parents Mr and Mrs Ogulu who raised him in Ahoada and later relocated to Lagos State where he completed his basic education.

Who is Burna Boy?

Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born July 2, 1991) is one of Afrobeats’ foremost artists, who is known professionally as Burna Boy. Regarded as one of the finest songwriters and singers on the African continent, Burna Boy has lived up to the hype with a rich discography and numerous laurels to his credit.

He is the 2021 winner of the Best World Music album Category at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards for his fifth studio album: Twice As Tall.

The music giant came to the limelight in 2012 after he was signed to Aristokrat Records and dropped the song Like To Party, which was the lead single off his debut album, L.I.F.E, released in 2013. A three-time International Best Act at the BET Awards and first Afrobeats artiste to sell out Wembley arena (SSE arena), Burna Boy is the founder of Spaceship Entertainment and is currently signed to Warner Music Group.

It just took Burna Boy a couple of years to accomplish what the vast majority of his counterparts couldn’t accomplish in such a large number of years. He raged the music business in 2010 and in the long run worked his way to the top following two years, cutting a specialty for himself as one of Nigeria’s quick-rising stars to keep an eye out for.

The vocalist may not be as mainstream as Fela Kuti or King Sunny Ade yet he sure has for all intents and purposes all that it takes to become incredible like these men of greatness. Burna Boy has the voice, ability, aptitudes, allure, and a vanquishing soul that has driven them through numerous obstacles in the business.

I surmise you truly need to find out about this quick-rising whiz and his music profession. You’ll discover the real factors you have to think about Burna Boy right now.

Burna Boy’s Early Life

Burna Boy was born as Damini Ogulu on the 2nd Of July 1991. He was birthed in the coastal city of Port Harcourt. An indigene of Rivers State, he hails from both the Niger Delta and South-South regions of Nigeria.

He comes from a mixed ancestry as his mother is a Yoruba woman named Bose Ogulu. His father is named Samuel Ogulu. Burna Boy comes from a very creative family.

He is the older brother of Nissi Ogulu, a singer and mechanical engineer. He has an older sibling, a sister named Romani Ogulu, who is a scientist and designer. His grandfather is Benson Idonijie, a veteran radio broadcaster, music critic and one-time band manager of Fela Kuti. Also, his mother was a former Kalakuta Queen, one of the female dancers of Fela Kuti.

His parents raised him in the Christian faith and spent his early years in Port Harcourt and Lagos City. Coming from a family with a rich art background helped Burna Boy discover his musical talent quite early, and he didn’t face any resistance from his parents in pursuing his passion. Instead, they encouraged him, which motivated him to start composing songs while he was still in high school.

Having set the goal that he wanted to be one of the most excellent musicians to ever live, he knew that his music would have to be unique so as to stand out. Thus, he chose to tow the path of Afrobeats and allowed himself to be influenced by records from the likes of Bob Marley, Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, amongst others.

Burna Boy’s Educational Background

Burna Boy hails from an upper-middle-class background, which allowed him to taste quality education.

He completed his crèche and primary school education at a top private school in Port Harcourt. For his middle and high school education, he attended Corona Secondary School in Agbara, Ogun State.

He emigrated to the United Kingdom for his university education and studied at the University Of Sussex, bagging a degree in Media Technology.

Burna Boy’s Musical Career

Having learnt how to produce beats using Fruity Loops, Burna Boy recorded two mixtapes, Burn Notice and Burn Identity, before signing to Aristokrat Records. Under this label, he released the hit song, Like To Party, in 2012, which thrust him into the limelight.

Like To Party is the lead single off his debut studio album, L.I.F.E, which was released on the 12th Of August 2013. The project features other top-charting singles like Run My Race, Yawa Dey, Always Love You and Tonight.

Burna Boy was nominated for the 2013 Next Rated Artiste award at The Headies. However, he lost the award to fellow singer, Sean Tizzle. His debut album L.I.F.E was nominated for the Best Album Of The Year at the 2014 Nigerian Entertainment Awards.

Two years after becoming a music star, he parted ways with Aristokrat Records and founded his own music label, Spaceship Entertainment, in February 2015. Under Spaceship, he has released four other commercially successful albums and music projects.

On the 25th Of November 2015, he dropped his highly anticipated second studio album titled: On A Spaceship. The album was closely supported by a debut EP, Redemption, released in September 2016.

Burna Boy made his comeback in January 2018 when he released his third album, Outside, which was dropped on the 26th of that month. The album helped him secure recognition in the international music scene with raving singles such as Ye, Heaven’s Gate, Rock Your Body, Koni Baje, Sekkle Down and Streets Of Africa. The album went on to win Album Of The Year at the Nigerian Entertainment Awards.

In 2019, he was among the group of African artists invited to work on Beyoncé‘s album, The Lion King: The Gift. He wrote and recorded the single, Ja Ara E, and earned the honour of being the only guest artiste with their own track on the album.

Burna Boy became the first Afrobeats artist to sell out Wembley Arena that same year. Moreso, he went home with four awards at the 2019 Soundcity MVP Awards Festival, winning the coveted African Artiste Of The Year, Listener’s Choice and Best Male MVP award categories.

His fourth studio album, African Giant, which contains top-charting singles like Anybody, Killin’ Dem, Gbona, On The Low, Dangote, amongst others, was released to critical acclaim and commercial success on the 26th Of July 2019. The album was nominated for the Best World Music Album category at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020. However, he lost the award to Beninese singer, Angelique Kidjo .

In 2020, during the pandemic, Burna Boy began recording his fifth studio album, Twice As Tall, which was executive produced by American music icon, P. Diddy (Sean Combs) and his mother, Bose Ogulu. The album, which was released on the 14th Of August 2020, won the Best World Music Album category at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Thus, Burna Boy made history as the first Nigerian artiste to have a back-to-back nomination at the Grammys.

Burna Boy‘s single, Destiny (one of the tracks in the African Giant album), was included in the playlist at the inauguration of Joe Biden as the president of the United States. His song, My Money, My Baby, appeared in the film, Queen and Slim‘s soundtrack album. His latest single featuring Wizkid , Ballon D’Or, was released in January 2022.

Burna Boy’s Personal Life

Burna Boy is considered in some quarters to be the Giant Of African music and regarded as among the continent’s top three artists alongside Wizkid and Davido . The Port Harcourt-born singer turned 31 years old on the 2nd Of July, and as expected, his family members, close friends and management team threw a large party to celebrate the milestone.

He is currently being managed by his mother, Bose Ogulu. He shuttles his time between Lagos and London, where his girlfriend resides. Burna Boy is romantic with UK female artist Stefflon Don, which began in 2018.

He is one of the country’s wealthiest artists, and this is evident by his luxurious lifestyle. He has featured in top magazines like Vogue, British GQ and Evening Standard. He is a football enthusiast and supports the English club, Manchester United. He is a brand ambassador of Pepsi, Nigerian Breweries PLC and tech company, Chipper Cash.

Burna Boy’s Net Worth

Burna Boy ‘s success in the music industry has given him the opportunity to earn a fortune from his career via royalties, brand partnership deals and performance at gigs.

His net worth estimated to be worth US$20 million to US$25 million.

• L.I.F.E – Leaving an Impact for Eternity (2013)
• On a Spaceship (2015)
• Outside (2018)
• African Giant (2019)
• Twice as Tall (2020)
• Love, Damini (2022)
• Redemption (2016)
• Steel & Copper (2019)
• Celebrate (2013)
• Won Da Mo (featuring D’banj) (2013)
• Rockstar (2014)
• Don Gorgon (2014)
• Check and Balance (2014)
• Mandem Anthem (2016)
• Hallelujah (2017)
• Money Play (2019)
• Odogwu (2020)
• 20 10 20 (2020)
• Question (featuring Don Jazzy) (2021)
• Want It All (featuring Polo G) (2021)
• B. d’Or (featuring Wizkid) (2021)
• Recent Posts

• Kanye West Officially Marries Bianca Censori, Tells Her To Never Speak Again: Report - 8 October 2023
• Steve Harvey Allegedly Scared Of His Wife Majorie Harvey - 10 September 2023
• Amber Rose Proves She’s The Ultimate Baby Mama On Wiz Khalifa’s Birthday - 10 September 2023

TIDINGS INFO

Burna Boy Age, Parents, Wife, Ethnicity, Religion, Songs, Albums, Net worth

Who is burna boy.

Burna Boy is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in 2012 after releasing “Like to Party”, the lead single from his debut studio album, L.I.F.E (2013). Since then, he has collaborated on successful tracks with renowned artists like Wizkid, Ed Sheeran, Master KG, and Olaminde, to name a few.

On June 4, 2022, Burna Boy performed at the Belgravia Sports Stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe, where he allegedly turned down two offers of huge amounts of money in exchange for wearing a scarf bearing the ZANU-PF logo to support the Mnangagwa administration.

Burna Boy Age

Burna Boy is 33 years old as of 2024. He was born on July 2, 1991, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

Related:  Ryan Ofei Wife, Age, Wedding, Birthday, Maverick, Songs, College, Net worth

Burna Boy stands at an average height of 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m).

The Nigerian singer did his high school studies at Corona Secondary School in Agbara, Nigeria. He moved to the United States and enrolled at the University of Sussex and later Oxford Brookes University where he studied media technology.

Burna Boy’s parents are Bose Ogulu and Samuel Ogulu. He grew up with his sister, Nissi Ogulu who is also a singer. His father Samuel, worked as a manager at a welding company while her mother was managing his musical career and therefore she is commonly known as Mama Burna.

Burna Boy Ethnicity

Burna Boy is of the Yoruba ethnic group.

Is Burna Boy Married?

Burna Boy is not married at the moment. However, she was previously dating British rapper, Steflon Don but they broke up in 2022 after a four-year relationship.

In addition to that, Burna does not have a child. In an interview in June 2022, he said, “I simply want to raise my kids in the same manner which my parents raised my sisters and me. I will not have children until I’m sure I can be steady and content with the mother of my children.”

Burna Boy’s Net worth

Burna Boy has a net worth that ranges between $19 million and $22 million. He has generated his wealth from his career as a singer.

Related:  Rotimi Age, Wife, Parents, Songs, Ethnicity, Net worth, Movies, Tv Shows

Burna Boy described his faith in February 2022 that he is both a spiritual guy and a scientific logical guy.

Burna Boy Real Name

The Nigerian singer was born as Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu.

• For my Hand
• Want It All
• It’s Plenty
• L.I.F.E (2013)
• On a Spaceship (2015)
• Outside (2018)
• African Giant (2019)
• Twice as Tall (2020)
• Love, Damini (2022)

Burna Boy Socials

• Apple Music

Related:  Briana Babineaux (Musician) Husband, Net Worth, Age, Ethnicity, Kanye, Songs

Which High School Did Burna Boy Attend?

Burna Boy attended Corona Secondary School in Agbara, Nigeria.

Dora is an experienced senior writer at Tidingsinfo.com She has vast knowledge of the entertainment scene and loves being an entertainment blogger. While not working on articles, Dora loves to binge watch Netflix reality shows and stay up to date on the latest series.

Similar Posts

Anna Sailors Elevation, Age, Husband, Children, Net Worth, Songs

Advertisements Who is Anna Sailors? Anna Sailors is an American Christian singer, Worship Leader, and Project Manager. She is best known for her time at Elevation Church where she served as a worship leader and project manager. She supported Elevation Church’s overall music director on a daily basis by serving as a worship leader and project…

Alan Jackson Health; Battling Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease

Advertisements Who is Alan Jackson? Alan Jackson is an American singer-songwriter. He is one of the most successful musicians of all time with over 75 million recordings sold globally, including 44 million in the US alone. There is no doubt that he has generated a considerable amount of wealth.

The Kid Laroi (Rapper) Net Worth, Girlfriend, Age, Family and Juice Wrld

Advertisements Who is The Kid Laroi? The Kid Laroi is an Australian Singer, Rapper and Songwriter. He considers himself an ambassador for Australia and even told Triple J that he wants to accomplish for Australia what Drake did for Toronto and Canada. He developed a local fan base before signing a deal with Lil Bibby’s…

Who is Macy Gray’s Ex Husband

Advertisements Who is Macy Gray? Macy Gray is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known worldwide for her unique hoarse voice and a singing style that is highly Billie Holiday influenced by Billie Holiday. Her musical career began when she volunteered to write songs for a friend during her time at…

Inayah Lamis (Singer) Bio, Net Worth, Age, Son, Best Thing and Suga Daddy

Advertisements Who is Inayah Lamis? Inayah Lamis is an American singer, songwriter, and social media celebrity who came to prominence in May 2018 after recreating Ella Mai’s song “Boo’d Up.”  While her preferred genre is Hip-Hop and Rap, she has composed a number of songs that have helped her gain a large following on her…

Bill Gaither Homecoming, Age, Wife, Children, Parents, Siblings, Net Worth

Advertisements Who is Bill Gaither? Bill Gaither is an American Christian singer and songwriter. He has served as a mentor and career booster for many up-coming artists in the Christian music scene. He has also extended the music careers of those who started before him, such as by producing the Homecoming albums and tours.

• Actors & Actresses
• Media Personalities
• Public Figures
• Love & Romance
• Communications
• Travel & History
• TV & Entertainment
• Privacy Policy

Who Is Burna Boy? A Look at the Biography, Age and Awards of the Star Musician

Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, best known by his stage name Burna Boy or perhaps, African Giant as he proudly calls himself, is a 33-year-old Nigerian singer, writer, producer, and performer. He is undoubtedly one of the top Nigerian singers who has taken the Nigerian music industry to the world through their music styles. Talk about African songs embellished with a unique fusion of Afro-pop, reggae, ‘riddim,’ and dancehall, and you seek no other but Burna Boy’s songs like ‘Like to Party,’ ‘Ye,’ ‘On the Low,’ ‘Soke, ‘Rizzla,’ ‘Spiritual,’ and much more.

Profile Summary of Burna Boy

• Full Name: Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu
• Date of birth: 2 July 1991
• Place of birth: Rivers State
• Nationality: Nigerian
• Profession:   Singer, songwriter
• Music Genre: Afro-fusion, Afrobeat, Dancehall, hip hop, Pop, R&B
• Years active: 2011–present
• Marital Status: Single

Burna Boy Hails from Ahoada, Rivers State, Nigeria

Burna Boy may have grown his fame in Africa’s largest city of Lagos, but he is certainly not from Lagos State. He was born on July 2, 1991, in Ahoada, Rivers State, South-Southern Nigeria. If you are a fan of his music, you will notice his songs has a fusion of Yoruba, Igbo, and pidgin English. That, of course, is influenced by the environment he grew up in. He grew up with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ogulu, and spent most of his childhood in Port Harcourt before his family relocated to Lagos.

According to records, Burna Boy attended Montessori International School, from where he moved to Corona, Agbara, Lagos, for his secondary school education. Growing up in an averagely rich family, Burn Boy had an exciting childhood surrounded by members of his extended family. His father was popular for managing a welding company, and his mother worked as a translator for the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce. His maternal grandfather Benson Idonije once managed the Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti . Even as a child, he was already exposed to music styles that somehow influenced his music style and genre in the future.

Burna Boy Has Only Two Sisters

View this post on Instagram A post shared by N I S S I N A T I O N 🌎 (@nissination)

Burna Boy may not be fond of exposing his family to the public, but he is sure very close to every family member. The famous artist grew up amidst two sisters, namely Ronami Ogulu and Jehovah-Nissi Ogulu. He is the oldest of the three, and his sisters are doing well on their own. Meet them below.

His Younger Sister, Ronami Ogulu, is a Fashionista

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ronami Ogulu (@r0nami)

Ronami is Burna’s younger sister; she is a stylist and is committed to managing his wardrobe for public appearances, performances, and tours. It is unclear when Ronami started her career as a stylist, but it is believed that she’s been managing her brother’s wardrobe for years. Her approach to styling is radical and uniquely different from the usual style guides, which is why she is being patronized by her brother.

Nissi Ogulu is a Singer and Songwriter

Nissi is a singer-songwriter who has created an enviable niche for herself in the music world. Though not as popular as her brother, Nissi’s music is a blend of genres, including funk. Not only is she Spaceship Records’ first signing, but she is also currently the only female artiste working under the record label. Nissi is based in London, where she is also popular for her music.

Asides from being a singer, Burna Boy’s sister Nissi is a Mechanical Engineer and a graduate of Warwick University, UK. You could also refer to her as a fine artist, creative digital designer, animator, philanthropist, dance aficionado, etc. Like her brother, Nissi was privileged to attend some of the best schools in the city. As a teenager, she attended Corona Secondary School, Lagos, and then The Royal High School, Bath, UK.

Burna Discovered His Singing Talent  At Age 10

Burna Boy grew up with a family known for their creativity, which helped him discover his calling in the music world. As a toddler, he would dance and sing whenever his parents took him to a restaurant to eat. Growing into his teenage years, his interest in music began to increase as he grew fond of foreign rappers like Naughty and Busta Rhymes while still enjoying the dancehall of Buju Banton. When he was 10 years old, his friend and classmate gifted him a copy of the production software FruityLoops. Armed with these means, he began to create his own beats on an old computer.

At 17, He Left Nigeria For the UK  to Further his Academic Career

Burna Boy’s family sure loves music, but a greater preference is placed on education. Hence, after completing his secondary education, he was moved to the United Kingdom (UK) and was admitted to the University of Sussex to study Media Technology. Shortly afterward, he moved to Oxford Brookes University to study Media Communications and Culture. He eventually returned to his home country in 2010.

Seeing how well her son is passionate about music, Burna’s mother, Bose, got him a job as an intern with Rhythm 93.7 FM Port Harcourt. After work each day, Burna Boy would go to the studio to record songs. He always had his generator in his car’s trunk as a backup should the power supply go off at the studio. Meeting a mutual acquaintance, producer LeriQ, who had some studio space, Burna began to produce his own songs until he officially launched his professional music career after being signed to Aristocrat records – prompting his permanent relocation to Lagos.

Burna Boy’s Meteoric Rise to Fame

Burna Boy launched his career in 2010. He dropped his first record titled: “Shobeedo (Freestyle)” in 2011. The song was followed shortly by ‘Burn Notice” and “Burn Identity.” The following year, precisely on May 31, 2012, the Afrofusion songwriter released another single titled: “Like To Party” and subsequently its video on September 5, 2012, to the excitement of many music lovers.

Burna’s hit single ‘Like to Party’ from his debut album L.I.F.E eventually became the footstone that saw his rise to fame. Thanks to the massive acceptance of the hit song, the album L.I.F.E. sold about 40,000 copies on the first day of its debut. The album’s marketing rights were also sold to Uba Pacific for 10 million Naira. Not only did the album receive largely positive reviews from music critics, but it was also nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.

In August 2013,  L.I.F.E peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. Other stars featured in his album include 2face , M.I , Reminisce , Wizkid, Timaya , and Olamide .

Overview of His Music Career & Accomplishments

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Burna Boy (@burnaboygram)

In his little time on the microphone, the singer has managed to pull successful African singers like AKA, Leriq, and Sarkodie to the studio to work with him. This feat alone earned him praises within and beyond the entertainment community. “Like to Party” music video, which ran for 4 minutes and 9 seconds and was shot by Squareball Media services, to date, is considered as Burna Boy’s breakout song/video, as it played pivotal roles in thrusting him into immense popularity across Nigeria and beyond.

The Afropop vocalist also boasts another single hit titled “Tonight,” released on September 24, 2012, and later backed up with its music video. The music video for “Tonight” was released on December 13, 2012, featuring the singer’s innate feelings and heartfelt emotions. Burna Boy’s debut studio album is titled: L.I.F.E – Leaving an Impact for Eternity . It was released on August 12, 2013, by Aristokrat Records.

His other musical credits include “Redemption (EP)” (2016), “On a Spaceship” (2015), “Outside” (2018), etc. The star singer described his 2018 album, Outside, as a mixtape because it mostly consists of Afrobeats, dancehall, reggae, and road rap. It peaked at No. 3 on the   Reggae Albums chart and was marked as Burna’s major-label debut. Burna’s next album that came shortly after the widely accepted mixtape was African Giant – an Afro-Fusion mostly described by the singer as his most personal album yet.

Burna Boy has released five successful music albums, namely:

Is burna boy the most popular nigerian musician.

The self-claimed African giant is no doubt a force to reckon with in the Nigerian music industry. He is largely described as a new generation black artist with strong influence from dancehall, British culture, and hip-hop. Since his emergence into the music world in 2013, Burna became one of the most in-demand musicians on the planet. However, his steady release of several hit tracks and albums has seen him rise above his peers and is now recognized as a music business superpower.

Burna Boy is one of the most successful music artists in Nigeria; his consistency in producing Grammy-worthy albums three years in a row and bagging two nominations has earned him a seat as one of the most popular artists in Nigeria. However, his seat as the most influential artist in Nigeria could be argued as the likes of Wizkid has held on to the title for several years.

The Afrobeats singer Wizkid has always been dubbed a music legend for taking after Fela Kuti and contributing immensely to the African sound’s global acceptance (Afrobeats). With 65 awards, including a title as the most awarded African artist in BET history, Wizkid is named the best and most influential artist in Nigeria. Next to him is, of course, Burna Boy, with 22 awards and counting. Burna is also named the first contemporary Nigerian musician to win the Grammy award in recent times. He is also the first Nigerian to be nominated back to back in Grammy. His Grammy awards gave him an edge over artists like Davido and D’banj , who have 29 awards each.

Here is a complete list of Awards Burna Boy has won so far

• 2013 – Nigeria Entertainment Awards for Best New Act of the Year
• 2014 – Nigeria Entertainment Awards’ Album of the Year
• 2015 – MTV Africa Music Awards for Best Collaboration
• 2015 – All Africa Music Awards for Best African Collaboration
• 2018 – African Musik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA) for Best African Dance Hall/Reggae Act
• 2018 – Nigeria Entertainment Awards for Album of the Year
• 2018 – Soundcity MVP Awards Festival for Listener’s Choice and Song of the Year, Best Male MVP, African Artiste of the Year
• 2018 – BET Awards for Best International Act
• 2018 – The Headies  awards Song of the Year, Artiste of the Year, and Best Collaboration
• 2018 – MTV Europe Music Awards for Best African Act
• 2019 – Future Awards Africa for Future Award Prize for Musi and Future Prize for Young Person of the Year
• 2019 – African Muzik Magazine Awards for Artiste of the Year, Best Male West Africa
• 2019 – All Africa Music Awards for West African Male Artiste of the Year and Artiste of the Year in Africa
• 2019 – Ghana Music Awards for African Artiste of the Year, Crossing Boundaries with Music
• 2020 – Soundcity MVP Awards Festival for Best Male MVP, Song of the Year, African Artiste of The Year
• 2020 – African Musik Magazine Awards for Best Collaboration
• 2020 – BET Awards for Best International Act,
• 2020 – Edison Award for Best World Album, Best International Act
• 2020 – MOBO Awards for Best International Act
• 2021 – Grammy Awards for Best Global Music Album
• 2021 – Global Music Awards Africa for Artiste of the Year
• 2021 – BET Awards for Best International Act

Why Burna Boy’s Music is Unique

From listening to the music of legends like Fela Kuti, Angelique Kidjo, DMX, and Buju Banton, Burna has worked himself into becoming one of contemporary African music’s bright stars and the pioneer of an enigmatic genre he dubs “Afro-fusion.” Burna delved into the dancehall and reggae music his father listened to and explored the Afro-beat music preferred by his grandfather. As a result of his exposure and discoveries, he created a confluence of genres that would become his signature sound.

Burna’s music has always been well-loved among the UK’s African community, ever since his 2013 debut album LIFE (Leaving An Impact For Eternity). With his music, Burna is not only promoting a pan-African message, preaching unity, and raging against oppression and discrimination, but he is also influencing a generation of British acts. Reeling through his other UK collaborators – Lily Allen, Jorja Smith, Wretch 32, J Hus, Dave – shows the breadth of his reach. Burna Boy has also worked with many other international stars, including Fall Out Boy, Major Lazer, Damian Marley, Future, Pop Smoke, etc.

Recommended

Meet aurora imade adeleke, davido’s daughter, cac business name registration, fees, and online portal login, list of tribes in adamawa state, when did davido start music and what was his first song, akwa ibom state university courses, portal and fees, featured today, inec online registration portal and voters card verification process, akwa ibom state culture, taboos, language and meanings, jamb change of institution, course, email and phone number, lateef adedimeji biography: truth about his age, family and net worth, 20 trendy akwa ibom traditional attire for men and women, how much is driver’s license in nigeria, akwa ibom postal code: zip code for cities, towns and villages, akwa ibom state polytechnic courses, portal and school fees, mercy aigbe biography and age accomplishments, frsc driver’s license application portal, registration form and requirements, list of lightweight entertainment movies including selina tested, who is davido’s son david adedeji adeleke jr, who is adewale adeleke davido’s brother what is his net worth, uba customer care number, whatsapp contact, and email addresses, 15 interesting facts about lagos state, does flavour have a wife and who has he dated in the past, selina tested: where to watch the full episodes, ncc nigeria salary structure and functions, meet di’ja’s husband rotimi and their children, read this next, how top nigerian artists like wizkid, davido and burna boy release their music, where is olu maintain now and what is his net worth, boy spyce biography, age, and net worth, blaqbonez biography, age, and net worth, top 10 richest djs in nigeria, who is rejoice iwueze, how old is she and is she married.

© Buzznigeria.com copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved.

• 'It is so much more than the headliners': Lauren Laverne's Glastonbury guide
• Incoming: Fat White Family's Lias Saoudi talks survival, industry woes and Forgiveness Is Yours
• Decca co-presidents salute 'magic artist' Aurora ahead of Friday night Glastonbury performance
• 'This is a whole new set of emotions': Dua Lipa gears up for Glastonbury
• Taylor Swift's Eras Tour estimated to boost London's economy by £300 million
• Polydor president Ben Mortimer praises 'phenomenal' Sabrina Carpenter as star makes chart history
• Charts analysis: Sabrina Carpenter becomes first female artist in history to secure Top 3 singles
• Charts analysis: Sabrina Carpenter hits No.1, secures 2nd highest opening of 2024 & chart double
• Black Music Coalition Excellence Honourees 2024: Young Music Boss and YMB Awards' Jusnah Gadi
• Black Music Coalition Excellence Honourees 2024: MyBlaqBook's Brenda Juliet

Burna Boy: The story of a true music industry revolutionary

Music industry pioneers don’t come around all too often, and Burna Boy is one to cherish. Since emerging in Nigeria around 2012, he’s become a global giant, inventing his own genre, starting a business and enrapturing A-listers from Beyoncé to Ed Sheeran in the process. Music Week meets him, with his manager and mother Bose Ogulu and team Atlantic, to hear the story of a superstar revolutionary... 

Burna Boy is in the shower. This year’s Grammy nominations have just been revealed, including a place in the Global Music Album category for his Twice As Tall LP, but there’s no trace of delirium inside his London residence, where he’s been with his family and team since arriving from Lagos in the summer. No, Burna Boy is merely indulging in his ablutions before picking up the phone to Music Week for a late night chat.

So, Burna, congratulations…

“Thank you, thank the most high, you know,” he begins. “Hopefully I win this one. It feels great, it feels right, like the right thing to do. It feels deserved.”

Burna Boy’s supreme confidence is understandable. Born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu in Mbiama, Nigeria in July 1991, he is an international superstar. And this is why we are here, talking on a cold winter’s night for the second part of an interview in which he and his team tell the story of how he became a modern music industry superpower.

Twice As Tall is epic, and Burna anticipated its success. On opener Level Up, he raps, ‘ I’m a motherfucking legend and I say it proudly ”. Released via his own Spaceship Records in partnership with Atlantic/Bad Habit, who he signed with in 2017, Twice As Tall hit No.11, his highest UK chart finish so far. His second consecutive Grammy nomination comes after he was named Best International Act at the BET Awards in America (presented by super-fan Naomi Campbell via video link), and a second BRITs nod is surely forthcoming. With livestreamed shows at an empty O2 Academy Brixton for MelodyVR and a headline slot at BBC Radio 1Xtra Live offsetting the postponement of a tour that included stops at Wireless and Glastonbury, Burna has maintained a constant, noisy presence throughout 2020. Spotify billboards for Twice As Tall (15,478 sales, OCC) appeared around the world, while Burna has collaborated with Beats and released a BoohooMan collection. He’s been trending on Twitter, too, calling out the violent suppression of the movement against police brutality in Nigeria. He gave an interview to 1Xtra on the subject and made a single 20.10.20 (‘ And when we cry for justice/Them kill my people ’) to express his disgust at the massacre that took place in Lagos last month.

Completed in lockdown in Nigeria and co-executive produced by his mother and manager Bose Ogulu plus Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Twice As Tall counts legendary Senegalese artist Youssou N’Dour, Stormzy and Chris Martin among its guests and is full of similarly electrifying moments. It’s the kind of record that makes your skin prickle, defined by the Afro-fusion sound (a mix of Afrobeats, dancehall, hip-hop and more) that Burna Boy coined at the start of his career. Intensity, fire and euphoric melody are constant, and his vocals – a vivid mix of rapping and singing delivered in a blend of Yoruba, Igbo and English – make it unmistakeable. Burna promotes a pan-African message, preaches unity and rages against oppression, discrimination and marginalisation. This is protest music for the dancefloor.

My whole existence is about changing the status quo Burna Boy

The record’s defining moment is Monsters You Made, which is more volcanic torrent than pop song. Burna says that only Chris Martin would do for the chorus, he’d have left a blank space otherwise. He fires off lines about the, ‘ Hate the oppressed generate when they’ve been working like slaves for some minimum wage ’, before Martin’s hook, ‘ Calling me a Monster/Calling us fake/No way, no way, no way ’. With black culture, civil unrest and social injustice in sharp focus, and the planet in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s an anthem for the boiling chaos of 2020.

And thanks to 200 million global streams for Twice As Tall to date, his message is resonating. With 23.5 million followers across Spotify, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, his reach is massive. He’s a go-to for A list collaborations, in 2019, Beyoncé asked him for a song for her Lion King album, The Gift. The star can be seen mouthing the lyrics to Ja Ara E on her visual album Black Is King, too. Sam Smith also sought him out for Love Goes cut My Oasis. And then there’s Stormzy’s Own It (1,277,578 OCC sales, 199,451,177 Spotify streams), featuring Burna and Ed Sheeran. 

Burna’s music has always been well-loved among the UK’s African community, ever since his 2013 debut album LIFE (Leaving An Impact For Eternity). Last year, he became the first African act to headline Wembley Arena, which he sold out, and the UK connection runs deep. 

He studied media at the University of Sussex and Oxford Brookes, and spent time in London, exploring underground UK music. Now, he’s influencing a generation of British acts. Reeling through his other UK collaborators – Lily Allen, Jorja Smith, Wretch 32, J Hus, Dave – shows the breadth of his reach. Outside these shores, he’s worked with everyone from Fall Out Boy to Major Lazer, Damian Marley to Future, Pop Smoke to Wizkid.

How, then to sum up Burna Boy’s importance?

“We’re creating the path that we once wished we had,” says Bad Habit’s Matthew Adesuyan. “He’s the guy out in the field with the machete, cutting down the path in a 10 foot tall jungle where all you can see is snakes popping out. That’s the fearless part of what he does, not just with business, but also in life, he’s on the frontlines rather than waiting for someone else to do it for him.”

At the start, Adesuyan says, Bad Habit “didn’t even know who the fuck to talk to at DSPs, the strategy was to break by any means necessary”. They concentrated on UK collaborations because of Burna’s fanbase here, trying to reach as many ears as possible. The label encouraged Burna to tour the US, which he did, moving from the 650 capacity Union in LA, to the city’s 2,500 capacity Wiltern Theatre in a year. Such growth continues. Before the pandemic, plans were afoot to play Madison Square Garden.

Now EVP at Atlantic, Austin Daboh was at Spotify when Burna was breaking, and is a longtime fan. He arrived at the major just before Twice As Tall, and has immersed himself in every aspect of the campaign, paying particular attention to streaming. He points out that Twice As Tall was the fifth most streamed album in the UK in release week.

“This is an artist that genuinely stands for something,” Daboh says. “Monsters You Made with Chris Martin shows the bravery he demonstrates when talking about blackness. For me, Burna represents black excellence, so it’s amazing to see his well-oiled machine that can put out world class music and promotional campaigns as well.”

He’s got that special thing of being able to be influenced but still be unique Alec Boateng

Now at 0207 Def Jam, Alec Boateng talks to Music Week as one of his final acts at Atlantic, and is clearly emotional about what Burna Boy has built. 

“He is a new generation black artist in that he takes influence from dancehall, British culture and hip-hop and still remains African,” he says, adding that Burna’s impact transcends traditional measurements. 

“He’s got that special thing of being able to be influenced but still be unique. There’s no sound or style that is bigger than Burna, he’s one of the most sonically unique artists on the planet and unites black culture better than anyone.”

BBC Radio 1Xtra joint music lead and presenter DJ Target tells Music Week that Burna’s understanding of international audiences is key. “He has become an icon among a generation, and with his mainstream global success he’s reaching people from all walks of life,” he says. “In the world we live in today, Burna Boy’s impact has no ceiling. He represents change, and speaks out against injustice while representing young Africa and making worldwide hits. I’m sure he will continue to cement his legacy as one of the artists of an entire generation.”

The UK, says Burna, deserves a lot of credit, too. “It’s the place that shaped me into the man I am today,” he notes, which prompts the question of how it feels to return the favour, now he’s shaping the future for British acts.

“It brings a lot of joy,” he says. “There are a lot of younger generation UK artists that obviously wouldn’t be here if there was no Burna Boy. That makes me understand the gravity of the responsibility on my shoulders.”

As for how he approaches collaboration, Burna lets the wind take him. “Different songs have different spirits, I like everything to be organic and for everything to appease my spirits and ancestors,” he says, mystically. “That’s how the music comes and that’s how the collaborations end up. It’s always organic, it’s never a business deal…”

Burna Boy doesn’t have time for the music industry, almost forcing Music Week to cover our ears.

“I couldn’t give less of a fuck about that,” he admits. Instead, he’s building a business of his own. His Spaceship imprint has this year grown into Spaceship Collective, a records and publishing business run by Bose Ogulu, with Burna’s sister Ronami as creative and branding executive. Its remit is to nurture African talent. Producers Leriq and Telz made nine of the 15 tracks on Twice As Tall, while the label is home to Burna, Nissi (his other sister, who also designs cars) and Buju.

“The reason for the record arm is simply to provide structure, the kind we couldn’t have,” says Bose Ogulu. “For the publishing, the motive is to ensure as much as possible that catalogue for African artists remain in Africa.”

That Burna and his team are in a position to attack the industry their way is down to his mum’s work, which began when her son – who enjoyed driving his dad’s Mitsubishi in his youth – began taking music seriously. After years of graft at home in Nigeria ( see box, p16 ), international labels came calling.

Hearing her story, Ogulu’s success with Burna seems inevitable. Her father, Benson Idonije, was Fela Kuti’s first manager, and their home was always full of music, not to mention musicians. Kuti would become an idol for Burna.

“I was born into this environment where there was a band around and my dad managed and paid them,” she explains. “My dad was some sort of celebrity, we had all the musicians around us, from Fela, to Roy Ayers, Stevie Wonder, Ginger Baker, all of them. I saw what the artists couldn’t do – pay their bands, make sure they had instruments, stuff like that. I knew that was not really an artist’s job. I learned how to differentiate good music from average music, I just learned how to recognise talent.”

Ogulu never planned to manage her son, but things soon snowballed, and it became a full-time job in 2017, after he had released LIFE and On A Spaceship via Nigerian label Aristokrat Records.

“I knew he was going to do something non-academic, but I wasn’t sure what,” she says. “Me managing him happened because he asked me to, secondly because I felt, like he did, that I had enough business acumen to handle it, and that he’d be better off with me than anyone else. And because I knew if he failed, I would have to feed him.”

Burna describes being managed by his mother as, “One of my most lucky treats”, breaking into a wide smile. “To have someone who I know has my best interests at heart has been very important to me and it’s an advantage I have over everyone, the fact that my home is in order,” he says. “It’s love, at the end of the day.”

Bad Habit’s Adesuyan emphasises the uniqueness of the Burna set-up, confiding that it runs so deep that his dad and Burna’s dad speak more than he talks to his artist.

“It’s a family thing, Bose is on a whole different fucking wavelength,” he says. “There aren’t a lot of people that could keep up with somebody like Burna, she’s a special person and so is he.”

Ogulu says that it took, “A lot of bad coffee in label meetings” to find the right home. One of the most persistent chasers was Alec Boateng, who she refers to using his nickname, Twin.

We weren’t looking to ride on anyone’s back or have all the accolades given to another person and strip ourselves and our continent of our achievements Bose Ogulu

“He was like, ‘Look, this guy, his music is different and we want to do something with him’,” she says. “I remember going to his office and seeing Ed Sheeran’s poster on the wall and saying, ‘Is he with you?’ and he said, ‘Yes’. I said, ‘Get me Ed Sheeran and then we’ll talk’.” 

In 2017, Adesuyan and Bad Habit popped up, and Ogulu recalls a promising conversation. “To work with Burna or any of us, you need to have an understanding of who we are, where we’re coming from and how we want to carry ourselves,” she says. 

“We weren’t looking to ride on anyone’s back or have all the accolades given to another person and strip ourselves and our continent of our achievements. We didn’t want a label to say, ‘This is how you need to sound if you want a platinum album’. You need to sift through a lot of people.”

The partnership still has her approval, and Boateng even delivered Ed Sheeran, as promised. 

“You never forget the first time you meet Bose, she’s a genius in many ways,” says Boateng. “She’d asked for Ed Sheeran and then when we did the Own It video shoot, she came and I dragged Ed from wherever he was, plonked him in front of her and said, ‘Look, here he is,’ which was quite funny. The business they’ve built is a real blueprint.”

Naturally, Burna Boy doesn’t put it in business terms, but his words make it clear that he and his team him are breaking new ground. “My whole existence is [about] changing the status quo,” he says. “There’s never been anything ‘normal’ or ‘blueprint’ about it. I just move, and as I move a blueprint gets created that everyone follows.”

As he leans closer and stares into Music Week ’s eyes, it’s time to find out what he means…

How proud of Twice As Tall are you? “I feel great, man. I feel honoured by everyone involved in the process. I feel accomplished, there’s a bridge that has been built that wasn’t really there before the album. A bridge becoming solid between Africans in Africa, Africans in the world and people in the world in general. It feels like my mission is getting closer to the accomplishing stage.”

There are protest songs on the album, but it’s also full of joy. Can you describe that contrast? “There is protest music there, but at the same time there is music that helps you understand the messenger better. There are some songs that just put you in a happy mood, because I’m not a person who’s just sad [ laughs ]. Yes I am sad, and yes I am hurt by my environment, but at the same time, I’m happy about the things that are there to be happy about. I’m surrounded by family, I’m alive. It’s all about the good side, the happy side, the sad side and, most importantly, the revolutionary side. It takes a lot of elements to make a person. If you hear my albums, then you know me better as a person, you don’t need to meet me. I believe music should be something that makes a time in the artist’s life feel timeless. It’s almost like putting your experiences in life in a time capsule and then 50 years later, some kid comes across it and that’s how the kid sees what was happening. That’s really all my music is, man, me immortalising different times in my life. Now more than ever, we’re realising that we’re all going through the same things and we’re all brothers in the same struggle.”

Do you see it as a soundtrack to 2020? “Yeah, but I’ve made protest music since I started. I’m from Nigeria, so we have every reason to protest. A lot of people in other parts of the world are already fighting for a revolution, but we have more reason to fight and we don’t fight enough, that’s why I’ve always put it in my music. That’s my punching bag. I’m just trying to paint a picture of reality and what I think is the solution. I want the truth to be known. I want the younger generations and our children to know the truth and have their foundation in the truth as opposed to in the lies of Europeans and colonial masters.”

Can the music world’s approach to the Black Lives Matter movement make a difference? “It’s great what’s been happening this year with people waking up to the realities of our lives, but it’s not something you just do once. It’s a marathon, not something you just do now because you feel like everyone is doing it or it’s cool. It’s the long run. Hopefully everyone stays awake. But from what I can see, my people are getting distracted again and things are just going back to how they were. It’s difficult in a hopeless place, but I am hopeful for the future.”

How is the violence in Nigeria affecting you? “These things are happening not 10 minutes away from where my house is. If you listen to 20.10.20 it explains everything. The world can see, the world can hear. No matter how those responsible try to cover things up, the world can see and that’s all I care about. It’s the quickest [song I’ve done] but it’s the most necessary. The situation is a lot bigger than me. I try to make sure the right light is shed in the right places.”

What has your time in London been like this year? “It hasn’t felt the same, I’ll tell you that much. We’re making the best of the situation. It feels different in every way, I can’t do anything I used to do. When I’m performing, I’m performing for myself and for my band and cameras, the whole thing is changed. [Earlier this year] I started thinking I might never perform again. It’s an emotional rollercoaster, but every disappointment is a blessing, everything happens because it’s supposed to. That’s how I see it.”

Where is the UK’s relationship with African music at right now? “You have to understand that the fruits you pick in the UK have their roots in Africa. Everyone who enjoys apples, at the end of the day you have to thank the tree. You have to go back to the tree to make sure it’s blessed. That’s the relationship between African music and the UK, it is the root of what you see today in the UK. I feel very proud and honoured to be one of the pioneers of that.”

The OCC launched an Afrobeats chart this year,is that a good thing? “Most definitely! But it could also turn into a bad thing. It might turn into a bad thing if you have an Afro chart in the UK and the people who are in charge have never been to Africa and don’t have any connection with Africa. If you’re going to have an Afro chart, you should be in Africa making sure you’re in tune with what’s going on, so you don’t put something that’s only big in the UK on the chart. It’s an Afro chart, it’s not a UK pop music chart. They need to travel and make sure the people who are really putting their life on this Afrobeats thing, the pioneers, actually get to enjoy the chart.”

How would you like to see Africa’s international musical imprint grow? “What I would like is for Africa to become one country, so that we can all have an African passport, one currency and just fucking remove our differences and come together. If we were a united nations of Africa or something, then I probably wouldn’t even need to come to the UK to promote my music.”

You say you don’t consider yourself part of the music industry, why is that? “For me to consider myself part of an industry would mean I have to dance a certain tune or act a certain way to be able to excel. I believe I’m an individual who has a message and puts his message in his music and just lets everything else just be everything else. Being part of an industry would mean there are people I’m competing with, none of that applies to me. I’m just me, I’m here on my own. I look left and all I see is me. That’s not really an industry, is it?”

But you are building a business with Spaceship Collective… “Of course, it’s what I’ve always been doing, it keeps me happy. Everybody pulls their weight.”

How do you measure success? “I feel like I’ve been doing good since 2013. Doing [well] is not impressive to me anymore. I want the future to be good. I want my people to be good. You’re not good if you’re surroundings are not. I’m beyond fighting for my own survival, I did that, ages ago. Now, it’s a lot bigger than me. I almost don’t even matter in the grand scheme of things.”

What do you want Twice As Tall to achieve? “I want it to be the reference point for unity of our people. It’s time for us to really do something that matters. I don’t want children to grow up the same way I did, with separations and borders and, ‘We are all better than you’. We need to understand coming together as one Africa, even though people say, ‘We’re so diverse, we speak different languages, we have different cultures and blah, blah, blah’. Yeah we do, and most of us didn’t like each other in historical times, but now, we are all just [seen as] n*****s. We [need to] realise and try to focus on making sure we are not and that our children are not, that our children [become] powerful people, kings and queens who are a world power. That’s what Africa is, it’s the world’s most powerful place. I want this album to be the reference point for every African, one Africa and what could be gained from that. I don’t care what could be lost, because we’ve already lost everything.”

For more stories like this, and to keep up to date with all our market leading news, features and analysis, sign up to receive our daily Morning Briefing newsletter

• Burna Boy ,
• Bose Ogulu ,
• Spaceship Collective ,
• Bad Habit ,
• Matthew Adesuyan

Related Content

MUsic WEEK JOBS

• VIEW ALL JOBS

follow us...

• Bass Player
• Electronic Musician
• Guitar Aficionado
• Guitar Player
• Guitar World

Pro Audio/AV/Broadcast

• Audio Media
• International
• Installation
• ProSound Network
• Pro Sound New Europe
• Residential Systems
• Sound & Vision Contractor
• TV Tech Global

You are using an outdated browser. Upgrade your browser today or install Google Chrome Frame to better experience this site.

• Media Personalities
• Actors & Actresses
• Showbiz and TV
• Filmography
• Communications
• Love & Romance
• Travel and History
• Privacy Policy

Insights On Burna Boy’s Age, Biography and Family Background

Burna Boy (Born July 2, 1991) is a 32 year-old Nigerian Grammy Award-winning singer known for songs like “Gbona,” “On the Low,” “Killin Dem,” “Dangote”, “Anybody,” “Pull Up,” “Kilometre,” and “Last Last.”

Nicknamed African Giant, Burna is one of the biggest stars that Nigeria has produced. One of the things that have made him as successful as he is and relevant to the music industry is his family’s long history in the business of music. As an artist, he has proven himself a worthy member of the music scene in not just Nigeria but globally as well.

Profile Summary of Burna Boy

• Full Name: Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu
• Nickname: Burna Boy, African Giant
• Gender: Male
• Date of Birth: July 2, 1991
• Burna Boy’s Age: 32 years old
• Place of Birth: Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
• Nationality: Nigerian
• Education: Corona Secondary School in Agbara, University of Sussex, Oxford Brookes University
• Religion: Christian
• Sexual Orientation: Straight
• Marital Status: Married
• Burna Boy’s Parents: Samuel Ogulu (father) and Bose Ogulu (mother)
• Burna Boy Height: 6 feet 1 inch
• Weight: 84 kg
• Burna Boy’s Net Worth: $25 million
• Famous For: His award-winning singing career
• Instagram: burnaboygram

Burna Boy is 32 Years Old

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Burna Boy (@burnaboygram)

Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on the 2nd of July 1991. He was born into a family with musical inclinations and this influenced his choices a lot. Burna Boy is one of the few Nigerian musicians whose background can be traced to a rich background as he seemed to have it all growing up.

Many have wondered the true origin of the singer and we can confirm that he is from Rivers State and not a Yoruba boy as a lot of people have misconstrued. However, his grandfather Benson Idonije use to manage Fela Kuti when the music legend was alive.

He is Well-educated

Burna Boy is not in the league of musicians who drop out of school to pursue their career or never saw the four walls of a classroom. He attended school up to the tertiary level, most of which he achieved abroad.

As a child, he attended Corona Secondary School in Agbara, but this was only for a short while as he relocated to London to complete his studies. The artist has a degree in Media Technology from the University of Sussex and another one in Communications and Culture from Oxford Brookes University. This doesn’t mean he left music entirely to acquire his degrees. Instead, he found a way to make both parts of his life sync. In fact, he went to school to further hone his skills.

Burna Boy’s Music Career Started When He Was Still a Child

As a kid, Burna Boy already started to show an affinity for music, He would create beats on the digital audio workstation, FruityLoops. He was also part of a small group of other children who would perform covers of their favorite hip-hop songs. The degrees he got from the universities he attended were his means of getting technical knowledge to prepare him for the music industry.

His First Album was Released at the Age of 22 and Shot Him To Fame

In 2012, Burna Boy released his first major single, Like to Party and it was the lead single off his debut album, L.I.F.E, on the first day it was released, more than 40,000 copies were sold. The other singles on this album, Tonight , Always Love You . Run Your Race and Yawa Dey  were all able to match in quality with the first single he had released.

For a musician at such a young age, Burna Boy was able to achieve a feat that was almost impossible to do. The album was such an impressive body of work and it featured the talents of equally great musicians in the Nigerian music industry such as M.I, Timaya, 2face Idibia , and Reminisce. This was only the starting point for him and Burna Boy has been able to successfully build his career from this first album.

It has been raining awards and recognition for the artist since he made it to the limelight. Burna Boy brought home the Best International Act at the 2019 BET Awards while his fourth studio album African Giant which he dropped in July 2019 won Album of the Year at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards. The same album was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards while the next album Twice as Tall joined other nominees in the same category the next year, 2020. Meanwhile, he won the African Artiste of the year at the 2020 VGMA’s.

What Role Did Burna Boy’s Parents Play In His Rise To Fame?

His parents, Samuel and Bose Ogulu had high ranking jobs. His father Samuel was the manager of a welding company. Unlike some other members of the Ogulu family, Samuel has lived a largely private life. There is not a lot of information available on him. However, it is clear that he was in complete support of his son’s foray into music and his decision to have a career as an entertainer.

His Mother is his Biggest Supporter and Manages his Career

Bose Ogulu, Mama Burna, as she is popularly called, has been one of the biggest supporters of Burna Boy’s career. Before she started to work as his manager, Bose was a translator for the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce. She also worked as a music and language teacher. As her son started to build a professional career in music, she took on the role of being his manager. This went on until 2014 when she stopped managing him.

Then in 2017, she resumed her duties as a manager. Ogulu already had some experience in the music industry that preceded her becoming her son’s manager. She is the daughter of Benson Idonije, a music critic who was also the manager of the late Fela Kuti. A man who is one of Burna Boy’s inspirations. Bose Ogulu is also the CEO of Spaceship Collective, the parent company of Spaceship Records and Spaceship publishing, music and publishing outfits.

Meet Burna Boy’s Siblings

Burna Boy is from a family of five with two sisters. Just like his mother and grandfather, his sisters are also involved in the music industry but in different categories.

Burna Boy is the first child of his parents, his siblings are Ronami and Nissi. Of the two of them, the only person who works in the music industry as a musician is Nissi . Just like her brother, her mother is also her manager but unlike her brother, she performs with her own name.

Nissi is not afraid to push boundaries in a male-dominated industry and she shows great prospects in her strides.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ronami Ogulu (@r0nami)

Though she is the least famous among the siblings, Ronami is still an active player in the music industry but not as a singer. Although not a musician, she also works in entertainment as a stylist who manages her brother’s wardrobe for all his public appearances, including tours and other live performances.

Let’s just say Burna Boy has his family’s support in every aspect of his career and this has helped him grown in many ways.

Recommended

Who was rossana maiorca and what caused her death, where is zach edey from, who are his parents, and what is his ethnicity, who is la fonda sue honeycutt, duane chapman’s ex-wife, who are anuel aa’s parents meet nilda santiago and josé gazmey, who is riley gaines’ husband louis barker, featured today, dana perino’s salary and net worth, who is dana perino’s husband unveiling peter mcmahon’s story, kim hasse: bio and age of gordon lightfoot’s youngest spouse, steven rinella – age, wife, family and net worth, who is anton james pacino, al pacino’s son with beverly d’angelo, lori harvey’s siblings: meet her brothers and sisters, anuel aa height from feet to inches, how tall is the reggaeton star, lori harvey’s height: how tall is steve harvey’s daughter, stacie zabka: exploring the life of ‘cobra kai’ star william zabka’s wife, melanie leis: the bartender who became kelly mcgillis’ ex-wife, who is michael bolwaire, what is his age and net worth, bre tiesi’s ethnicity, nationality and parents, is lil’ tjay dead, alive or paralyzed, habiba abdul-jabbar: the untold truth of kareem abdul jabbar’s ex-wife, where is evan peters now after he split with emma roberts , who is sheena elise chestnut – eric greitens wife and where is she now, what is danny mcbride’s net worth and how much does he earn as salary, 5 things you didn’t know about chris motionless of motionless in white, what jj da boss does for a living and a look at his wife, kids and family, related stories, is donnie mcclurkin alive or did he pass away, how tall is chrisean rock, chrisean rock before blueface and fame, how old is chrisean rock and what is her real name.

© Answersafrica.com copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved.

Burna Boy 758

About burna boy.

Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, (born July 2, 1991), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and performer professionally known as Burna Boy.

Burna Boy grew up in a musically inclined family. He began composing music at a young age and launched his professional music career in 2010 with the release of his debut single “Freedom.” In 2011, he secured a record deal with Aristokrat Records , a Nigerian-based music label, and in 2013, he released his first studio album L.I.F.E, which included hit songs such as “TTonight,” “Yawa Dey,” and “Run My Race.”

In 2015, he left Aristokrat Records and started his own record label, Spaceship He then released his second studio album On a Spaceship in 2015, which included hit songs such as Jealousy," “Rizzla,” and “Soke.”

Burna Boy’s international breakthrough came in 2018 with the release of his third studio album Outside, which featured the hit song “Ye.” The album earned him critical acclaim and global recognition, with Rolling Stone calling it one of the best albums of the year.

In 2019, Burna Boy released his fourth studio album African Giant, which further solidified his status as a global superstar. The album included hit songs like “Anybody,” “On the Low,” and “Gbona.” It also earned him a Grammy nomination for Best World Music Album in 2020, making him the first Nigerian artist to be nominated for a Grammy in that category.

In 2020, Burna Boy released his fifth studio album Twice as Tall, which was executive produced by American rapper and entrepreneur Sean Diddy Combs. The album featured collaborations with artists like Youssou N'Dour , Naughty By Nature , and Stormzy , and received critical acclaim and commercial success.

Burna Boy’s music is known for its fusion of Afrobeats, reggae, dancehall, and hip-hop. He often draws inspiration from his personal experiences and the socio-political issues affecting Africa and the world at large. He has won several awards, including BET Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, and the African Muzik Magazine Awards.

Tested, Approved & Trusted

I Told Them...

Love, Damini

Twice as Tall

African Giant

• ⇽ Back to List of Artists

Find anything you save across the site in your account

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Burna Boy: ‘I have to think for a whole generation’

When he was young, Burna Boy would sit, watch the Grammy Awards and dream. He still carries fleeting memories of iconic past performances. He remembers being at home and staring into his box television screen and seeing famed artists of an era gone, crooning velvet vocals to crowded auditoriums, inspiration stirring.

T-shirt by Boss, £45. hugoboss.com . Trousers by Deola Sagoe, £180. deolasagoe.co . Belt and watch, Burna Boy’s own.

For as long as he can remember, for as long as he has released songs, the Grammys have floated somewhere in his periphery, a milestone he was sure he would one day reach.

That day finally arrived in March this year at the 63rd iteration of the awards show. The world watched as he won Best Global Music Album. It being a year unlike any other, the awards were accepted over video link. When his name was called, the feed cut to a jubilant Burna Boy. The artist was sat in a pearl-white suit, diamond grills glistening in his mouth, twisted dreads softly falling by his earlobes, both hands on his head, reeling back and forth in his seat, the magnitude of the moment nibbling at his surface. “Africa is in the house, man,” he said proudly, staring down into the screen. “Africa, we’re in the house.”

Off camera, the shrieks of his elated family drowned the room, waves of screams and cries carrying over the speakers. It was a spirited rejoicing, a childhood dream crystallising into reality. Burna gathered himself among the pandemonium and finally settled to accept his prize. “This is a big win for my generation of Africans all over the world,” he continued. “This should be a lesson to every African out there: no matter where you are, no matter what you plan to do, you can achieve it, because you are a king.”

His triumph will likely outlive him. His emergence onto the world stage in recent years has been representative of a wider shift, a symbol for how sounds and cultures rumbling from Africa, and its diaspora scattered through Western countries and continents, have crossed into the heartlands of global pop culture. In the soul of his albums, Life , On A Spaceship , Outside , African Giant and Twice As Tall , the latter three released in a concurrent stretch between 2018 and 2020, is a mood of pan-Africanism and continental unity that has defined the time period for his generation of musicians emerging from the continent.

For many, including the artist himself, the win for Burna Boy was bigger than Burna Boy – bigger than the Grammys and ceremonies and silverware. It was a time stamp on an era that has seen a dispersed diaspora come together in song and, in that reunion, display the richness of their varying cultures and heritages to a watching world. Among the music of contemporaries such as Wizkid and Skepta , Burna Boy stands at the vanguard.

There is an elusiveness to Burna Boy, a mystery that shrouds his movements and a subtle indication that he prefers things that way. When he speaks, it’s through his music – anything more is a bonus. We talked in crackled bursts over a few days, back and forth across calls that dipped in and out of shaky mobile signal and then eventually fell dead. “You must admit this is very frustrating,” he said, after dialling back on the same line that had shut him out moments prior. “I’m close to giving up.”

Jacket, £2,910. Trousers, £2,510. Trainers, £880. All by Louis Vuitton. louisvuitton.com . Glasses by Cartier, £835. cartier.com

He was back home in Port Harcourt. A long Easter weekend was settling over Nigeria and his Grammy win, the first for a Nigerian solo artist, beginning to sink in. The win, he says, “should just make everybody understand that there’s power in where you’re from and you are that power. No matter how bad the situation is, there’s something to take [from it]. There’s diamonds in the earth, you understand? Where I come from, there are so many diamonds.

“I wasn’t celebrating because of myself,” he tells me. “It was almost as if I’ve broken a mental cycle of our people. Because our people have been very mentally oppressed to feel like they can’t do certain things and that certain things are unreachable. You are what you think, at the end of the day. [It is] time to start thinking about ourselves, not what the society said we should be or what our limitations say we should be. I’ve come from Port Harcourt, the bottom of the map in Nigeria, and now I’ve become a champion. It may not mean anything to someone else, but to me, and to us, it means more than you can imagine.”

After his win, Burna Boy was thrown a homecoming ceremony. Crowded lines of Port Harcourt residents greeted him on his return. They held placards and wore T-shirts with his face laminated across the front. Bounded by security, he waded through the crowd, screams and hands and iPhones thrust into his face. Later, he was hosted at a concert in his honour, where musicians from the city turned out to celebrate his achievements and the Rivers State governor presented him with the Distinguished Service Star, its second-highest ranking award.

“It really tipped me off balance, super emotional,” he explains. “For me, I never have any expectations for these things so I never get disappointed. It was the best reaction I could ever hope for, even better.”

Port Harcourt is the fifth-largest city in Nigeria and where Burna Boy’s journey began. He was born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu into a family already steeped in music and its capacity to mean more. His grandfather, Benson Idonije, was at one time the stage manager for the late, famed national hero Fela Kuti , a revolutionary musician and activist who, through his social commentary, held the country’s political Establishment to account, as well as being vocal in his support for a united Africa. That sense of union and rebellion beats through Burna’s music today, a consequence, he has said in the past, of Kuti, of Burna’s mother and grandfather and of the home in which he grew up, where a Black Power fist adorned the walls. “Tell ’em Africa we don’ tire,” he rumbled on the intro to 2019 album African Giant , “So here comes the African giant.”

Jacket by Louis Vuitton, £14,300. louisvuitton.com

At home his father played dancehall and reggae, exposed a young Burna to the likes of Shabba Ranks, Super Cat, Buju Banton and Ninjaman, cult artists from Jamaica’s music scene, while elsewhere he grew a love of US rap from his uncle, who brought the music of Naughty By Nature, Busta Rhymes, Big Pun and DMX into his world. That bridging of borders has been the backdrop to his music and Africa’s crossing into the mainstream. Burna terms his music as Afrofusion, in which he blends those tones of his youth into a rich palette, smudging the strata between Afrobeats and dancehall and R&B and rap until it has become something of his own. On those records, his music pulses with those same sentiments of pan-Africanism, the political and cultural philosophy that seeks to unite and bond the peoples of Africa and their sprawling diasporas.

“It’s something I’ve always known, coming from the family I come from,” he says, “but it’s not something I always believed in, because I was living in the real world. But, you know, at the end of the day, you come to realise that we’re all losing.”

The world Burna inherited was a country still wrestling with the forces of a post-colonial era. He remembers how in school (Montessori International in Port Harcourt and then Corona Secondary in Lagos) they were taught a history that had been whitewashed, were educated within a system that told them regions such as the Niger River, which Port Harcourt sits at the mouth of, were founded by European settlers and colonisers such as Mungo Park, a Scottish explorer who stumbled into the region during the 1700s. On reflection, he says, “It is disrespectful, to say the least, because people have been there for centuries. That’s just one of the many deceitful things that we were taught and programmed to call the truth.”

“Monsters You Made”, taken from Burna’s latest album, Twice As Tall , released in 2020, is a holding space for that angst and frustration and a potential teaching ground for those seeking to understand the country as it exists today, the forces of racism and colonialism that have turned within it. It is an alternative history to the miseducation of his youth.

“If me and you go to war,” he says, explaining why he believes they were taught half-truths, “and you win that war, then automatically what is mine is yours. So you’re going to want to teach my children the history that will make you smell like roses and make me look like... Step one is re-education, because we’ve been miseducated. As soon as we were born, miseducation began. I think a deliberate effort should be made to re-educate us, because a very deliberate effort was made to miseducate.”

It’s a subject that Burna has tackled before. “Another Story” (from 2019’s African Giant ) opens with a snippet from Jide Olanrewaju’s documentary A History Of Nigeria . “To understand Nigeria,” says Olanrewaju, “you need to appreciate where it came from.”

Nigeria began as a business deal, an exchange of £865,000 in 1900 between the British government and the Royal Niger Company, a former mercantile company that controlled swaths of territory that have come to be known as Nigeria. In the aftermath of that trade, the relentless forces of colonialism pushed more than 200 ethnic groups, who collectively speak more than 500 languages, into a nation that sits today at a population extending past 200 million people, the largest on the continent and the seventh largest on the planet.

After 60 years of colonial rule under Britain, the country seized its independence in 1960. The union has been uneasy ever since. Nigeria broke into civil war in 1967, fracturing along ethnic lines, one of a string of African countries that have suffered similar fates in the decades following post-colonial rule. These accounts of history are woven into Burna Boy’s music. They are sampled in his songs and blared from speakers at his shows. There is a passing of information amid his exhibitions. For the newcomers and wider audiences who have come to adore the melody in his music, who shuffle their frames to his gentle rhythms, the confrontation with the reality of Nigeria and the external influences that have played a hand in its history is unavoidable.

“Monsters You Made” opens with the voice of Ebikabowei “Boyloaf” Victor-Ben, former commander of the Movement For The Emancipation Of The Niger Delta, a militant group that banded together in the early millennium to push back against economic inequality, oppression and the environmental devastation claimed to be perpetrated by the government and international corporations in the oil-rich region. “Oil is not something that our ancestors knew or passed down,” Burna commented last year. “Now, they’ve come and discovered oil, polluted all the rivers and left the people with nothing.”

Top, stylist’s own. Trousers by Off-White, £530. At Selfridges. selfridges.com . Slides by Bottega Veneta, £430. At matchesfashion.com . Socks by Falke, £12. falke.com . Watch, Burna Boy’s own.

Further into “Monsters You Made” he half raps, half sings, “We need a change and it ain’t no way I’ma take an excuse,” the line further testament to how, in the rhythmic tones and anthemic threads of his music, the local and mental consequences of the continent’s relationship with the West will continue to find new light and reach new ears.

“Music is the strongest way to get a message across,” he says. “I feel like that’s the role of music in all this. And now there’s a few people playing that role, so we’re heading in that direction.”

Turning towards the future, without forgetting the consequences of the past, he desires to see an Africa united and has spoken about seeing the continent pull together with a shared currency and a shared passport. And now, that sentiment remaining the same, the misgivings over education echoing in his words, he goes further: “In Africa, we’re the place that everything comes from,” he tells me, his style ever forthright. “Anything that makes any powerful country powerful comes from Africa. We have all the resources. We have gold. We have everything. What don’t we have? Why are we still not the world power? It’s because we’re not united. We’re not able to carry that kind of weight because of our lack of unity and our lack of understanding of each other. That’s simply what it comes down to.”

It was autumn 2019 and I had flocked with a crowd of more than 10,000 to the SSE Arena, Wembley, for the London leg of Burna Boy’s African Giant tour. The album had been released a few months earlier, unity in its essence, making true on his intent to connect the diaspora. Among the 19 songs were features from American rappers YG and Future, Britain’s Jorja Smith, Jamaica’s Serani and M.anifest of Ghana. Spread across the night, the music was blackness through many of its regional and cultural iterations.

There was a mood of celebration and pride among us in the audience, a tide of elation that rose with the elegance in Burna Boy’s performance. Those hours under the spotlight were career-defining, saw him join ranks as one of the most gifted performers of his time. When the curtain dropped and the music began, he emerged from the jaws of a giant gorilla prop, floated down to the stage in the grips of a wired harness, then proceeded to serenade an enthralled crowd.

Throughout the evening, his live band beat traditional drums, pulled fingers over saxophones and moved hands across guitar strings as he danced and turned under a roving spotlight. There was grace in his step, a magnetism in his presence, the feeling that this, here, among African Giant ’s orchestral instrumentals and the mass of gathered supporters, was his most natural state. A child of music following instinct.

T-shirt by Boss, £45. hugoboss.com . Trousers by Deola Sagoe, £180. deolasagoe.co . Shoes by Givenchy, £595. At Selfridges. selfridges.com . Belt, Burna Boy’s own.

During the course of the show a large Nigerian flag passed through the crowd and as he eyed it from the stage he smiled. “If there is anything like a second home,” he would say a little later in the show, “it would have to be London .”

The musician’s connection to the city stretches back several years. After finishing school and college in Nigeria in 2008, Burna Boy moved to London for university. In Britain he found the music of Amy Winehouse , encountered dancehall and reggae and, he says, went to his first concert proper, a reggae show fronted by legendary Jamaican artist Burning Spear. The experience with those various forms of music, he says, “was just really kind of showing that there was so much more that you could do”.

He stayed out east first, in the far reaches of Romford, before moving to South London. He roved around Brixton and the surrounding areas during a time when young UK rappers were flexing their flow patterns over bashment and dancehall instrumentals. Southwark’s PYG & SI unveiled kerbside freestyles underscored by Jamaican producer NotNice’s England Town Riddim . Elsewhere, Brixton rappers Sneakbo and Political Peak covered Vybz Kartel’s “Touch A Button”. Both were crown jewels of an era that shifted and altered Burna’s approach to music. “The energy matched their energy. That energy kind of triggered another energy in me, just the aggressiveness in the way words are put together.”

In 2010 he returned home to Nigeria, yet the influences of that time in London settled in his sound. Early songs such as “Don’t Cross That Line” from his first mixtape, Burn Notice , released in 2011, saw Burna take to similar bashment instrumentals, a distinct London drawl now in his inflection. By doing so he joined a long line of Nigerian-born artists pulling from the rhythmic bonds and communal ties that have long existed between Africa and the black diaspora in Britain. In the years that followed his brief stay, that relationship would bear fruits of commercial success and a world gaze.

By 2018, as he released third album Outside , Africa had begun a major crossing into the mainstream of pop culture. British-born Nigerian John Boyega was front and centre of Disney franchise Star Wars , while Anthony Joshua was heavyweight champion of the world. Actress and writer Issa Rae, of Senegalese descent, and Nigerian-American Yvonne Orji were both actors starring in award-winning sitcom Insecure . Outside came out just weeks ahead of Black Panther , in which black actors from across the continents – Daniel Kaluuya from Uganda via London, Chadwick Boseman from South Carolina and Lupita Nyong’o of Kenya – gathered on film sets for a movie that would go on to gross more than $1 billion. It was the African diaspora meeting itself and Burna Boy, with his psalms of unity, was among the individuals leading the charge.

He has since shared verses with British rapper Dave , of Nigerian heritage, on the sun-soaked smash “Location”, traded songs with J Hus, of Gambian heritage, on Outside and J Hus’ Brit Award-nominated album Big Conspiracy . Elsewhere he has recorded with Stormzy and Headie One , both with Ghanian roots, and with British rappers Wretch 32 and Chip, of Jamaican heritage. “We’re all kind of waking to the realisation that we’re much stronger together,” he says. “It’s an honour to represent as best as I can.”

That period coincided with a crucial time for him privately: “I just kind of made up my mind that I wanted it all. I wanted to be the greatest. That’s when it kind of just hit me really hard, like, ‘I have to do it. It’s that or death.’”

In 2018 he broke out with a song titled “Ye” and so began the journey to becoming a household name among his generation. After a night at Club Quilox in Victoria Island, Lagos, he pieced together the single’s silk croons and alluring melodies that would carry his voice across continents. Over a production etched together by Nigerian producer Phantom, he glides over the instrumental with grace and steadiness, singing in pidgin English, at one with the celestial rhythms.

It was a song moulded for dances and club nights and house parties, for carnivals and street parties and day festivals, his glowing harmonies pulling feet to makeshift dance floors wherever it played. “Ye” was crowned Song Of The Year at The Headies, Nigeria’s annual music awards show, went gold in both France and Canada, silver in the UK and reportedly earned 11m streams over seven months across major US streaming platforms. Burna’s journey from major African influence to global icon had begun in earnest.

African Giant was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 2020 Grammys, eventually losing out to Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo. In her acceptance speech Kidjo said, “Burna Boy is among those young artists from Africa that is changing the way our continent is perceived.”

Jacket, from £2,510. Rollneck, £795. Trousers, £695. Trainers, £880. All by Louis Vuitton. louisvuitton.com . Glasses by Cartier, £835. cartier.com

In the closing months of 2020, not long after the release of Twice As Tall , Burna Boy spoke out again, this time alongside a whole generation of young Nigerians. The youth of the country began protesting against police brutality and the SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad), which had been allegedly brutalising and murdering their own citizens. The protests morphed into the End SARS movement and was intensified when police opened fire on protestors, killing at least 12, according to Amnesty International, in a dark, blood-soaked evening that would come to be known as the Lekki Toll Gate Massacre.

The following afternoon Burna Boy turned out at a protest in London, staged outside the Nigeria High Commission, as a wave of demonstrations were held across the diaspora. In an interview with Sky News he said, “This is the most important moment in Nigeria’s history, because if nothing changes after this, if this doesn’t work, then it is over.”

Shortly after, he released “20 10 20”, a song of sorrow and a memorial for the protestors who were killed in Lekki. “Dem fail my people,” he crooned mournfully, “And when we cry for justice / Them kill my people.” He has spoken up “my whole life”, he says. “Anytime I’ve gone on any stage I’ve spoken up. End SARS was not the beginning of any speaking up. It was more like an eye-opening of the power that the youth have, that I always knew we had, but society doesn’t really allow the truth to be celebrated, you know?”

The role of statesman and spokesperson is a tightrope that Burna Boy walks. It’s a responsibility he both accepts and rejects. He will shy away from claiming any direct duty as a vehicle in the political and social future, saying, “I don’t play any role. I just play my music.” But in himself he seems to have realised that his symbolism to the people who cling dearly to his words, who show up elated at Port Harcourt homecomings and see themselves in his presence when he bounds across the world’s stages, that there is a distinct and unique sense of responsibility demanded of him. “Every day I realise more that things are bigger than me,” he says and speaks of certain risks and sacrifices that arise out of his position. “I have to think for a lot of people – basically a whole generation – before I think for myself.”

When this time period in Nigerian history is etched into stone, Burna Boy’s name will be carved deep in permanence, a figurehead for music that connected diasporas with home, speaks for those who have been silenced, played its own role in bleeding truths about the history of his country and the wider continent. There is a deep sense of profound meaning now attached to the man and his music. Yet, perhaps, for his own sense of wellbeing, for the space to make music with freedom and to play crowds with that distinct looseness in his limbs, these are not pressures he feels he can dwell on.

“I’m just making my music and just saying what my spirit is telling me to say,” he explains, the video link between us going fuzzy and glitching once final time, the face and voice of Burna Boy dissolving into a million scrambled pixels. “I don’t know about all the rest. All the rest is what’s supposed to happen. It’s – how do you say? – God’s will.”

Get your trial offer of 3 issues for £1 here .

Head to GQ’ s Vero channel for exclusive music content and commentary, all the latest music lifestyle news and insider access into the GQ world, from behind-the-scenes insight to recommendations from our editors and high-profile talent.

How Burna Boy Went Global  

How Fela Kuti Changed The Game With Fela Fela Fela  

Davido: ‘Ten Years Ago It Wasn’t Cool To Be African, But Now It’s All Changed’  

TheCityCeleb

The Private Lives Of Public Figures

Home » Biography » Celebrities » Musicians » Burna Boy’s sister Nissi Ogulu Biography: Net Worth, Songs, Age, Parents, Boyfriend, Instagram, Range Rover

Burna Boy’s sister Nissi Ogulu Biography: Net Worth, Songs, Age, Parents, Boyfriend, Instagram, Range Rover

Jehovah-Nissi Ogulu  (born August 1, 1994), known by her captivating stage name,  Nissi Ogulu , is a gifted Nigerian singer and a prolific songwriter. 

Hailing from the culturally rich landscape of Nigeria, she is also a fine artist. Notably,  Nissi Ogulu  is the sister of the illustrious Grammy Award-winning artist Burna Boy .

Moreover, serendipity has smiled upon her career as she has been blessed with a coveted contract under the esteemed banner of  Burna Boy ‘s record label,  Spaceship Records . 

This auspicious affiliation propels  Nissi Ogulu  into the limelight of the music industry, where she is poised to weave her melodic enchantments and enthrall global audiences with her remarkable talents and artistic virtuosity.

Early Life & Education

Nissi Ogulu , a remarkably gifted singer, was born on August 1, 1994, in Port Harcourt. Lovingly brought up by her doting parents, she hails from Rivers State, Nigeria. 

Nissi Ogulu ‘s supportive mother goes by  Bose Ogulu , an entrepreneur and talent manager, while her devoted father answers to  Samuel Ogulu , an entrepreneur. 

• Burna Boy Biography: Albums, Age, Net Worth, Parents, Wife, Songs, Girlfriend, Children, Awards, Wikipedia
• Senth Biography: Girlfriend, Age, Net Worth, Songs, Record Label, Wikipedia, EP Album, State Of Origin, Olamide YBNL Signing, Wife
• Shallipopi Biography: Girlfriend, Age, Songs, Net Worth, Elon Musk Lyrics, EFCC Arrest, Wikipedia, Record Label
• Temmie Ovwasa Biography: Net Worth, Songs, Age, Instagram, Boyfriend, Family, Parents, Wiki

During her upbringing,  Nissi  was fortunate enough to share her formative years with two remarkable siblings: an acclaimed Nigerian singer for a brother who goes by the moniker  Burna Boy  and a beloved sister named  Ronami Ogulu .

Nissi Ogulu , a bright and ambitious individual, had the privilege of attending the prestigious  Royal High School Bath  for her secondary education. She pursued higher studies at the esteemed  University of Warwick , with a strong foundation built during her time there. After years of dedication and hard work,  Nissi  graduated from the university with the knowledge and skills to embark on her professional journey.

In September 2016,  Nissi Ogulu  released her debut single,  Pay Attention , and followed it up with the official music video directed by  Labi Odebunmi , who won the 2012  Stanley Kubrick Award . Later that year, she released her third single,  Familiar , produced by Nigerian music producer  Chopstix .

Her EP titled  IGNITE  was released in 2020, and she continued her musical journey with the release of singles such as  Hold  in 2021,  Gravity  in 2022, and  Overthinking  in 2022.

“ Nobody ” is the latest entrancing creation by Nigerian singer and songwriter  Nissi Ogulu , featuring the melodic charms of  Fireboy DML . This musical gem was unveiled in 2023 and has quickly gained viral status, making it the tune of the moment. The track was launched under the banners of  Spaceship Records  and  EMPIRE .

Following her previous release,  Higher  (2023),  Nissi  treats us to the delightful sounds of  Nobody . This beautiful melody is set to be a highlight of her upcoming extended play  UNBOXED , slated for release on October 5th. 

Alongside her passion for music,  Nissi Ogulu  joined the Jaguar Land Rover engineering team in 2021 and actively contributed to the design and assembly of the highly anticipated 2023 Range Rover model. 

Additionally,  Nissi Ogulu  showcased her philanthropic side by launching a charity NFT collection on the Binance NFT marketplace.

Nissi Ogulu  showcased her talents as a multi-talented artist by creating  The Satchel , a 3-D animated short film, where she took on the roles of director, producer, and composer. She is credited as the founder of  Creele Animation  Studios.

Additionally,  Nissi Ogulu  received recognition for her creativity and innovation by winning the prestigious 2022 Havana Club X Burna design prize for her product at Paris Packaging Week 2023.

Social Media

• Instagram handle: @nissination
• Twitter handle: Nissi (@NissiNation)
• Facebook: Nissi Ogulu

Personal Life

An exceptionally skilled singer,  Nissi Ogulu  has always maintained privacy regarding her personal life. She has not publicly disclosed details about her relationship status or whether she has any children. 

Thus, information regarding her past or current boyfriends is unavailable, indicating that  Nissi Ogulu  is single and has never been married. The 30-year-old  Nissi Ogulu  celebrates her birthday every August 1.

Discography

• 2016 Criminal
• 2016: Pay Attention
• 2016 Familiar
• 2019 Over Here
• 2021 Move X2
• 2022 Gravity
• 2022 Overthinking

Filmography

• 2021: The Satchel

Nissi Ogulu , hailing from Nigeria, is a talented singer, songwriter, and esteemed sister of the renowned Grammy-winning musician  Burna Boy . 

With her exceptional musical abilities,  Nissi Ogulu  has accumulated a substantial net worth ranging between $300,000 and $1 million. 

This is based on her earnings from her music career, as well as her investments and other sources of income.

NOTICE!! NOTICE!! NOTICE!!

Follow us today.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.

Thanks for signing up as a global citizen. In order to create your account we need you to provide your email address. You can check out our Privacy Policy to see how we safeguard and use the information you provide us with. If your Facebook account does not have an attached e-mail address, you'll need to add that before you can sign up.

This account has been deactivated.

Please contact us at [email protected] if you would like to re-activate your account.

Burna Boy doesn’t shrink in the presence of others, but when he first spoke on the phone to the legendary singer-songwriter Angélique Kidjo , he found himself shaking, according to the Atlantic . 

The moment captures something essential about the Nigerian Afro-fusion superstar. Although he’s emerged as a cultural giant in recent years — thanks in large part to 2019’s sensational African Giant — he sees himself as part of a long lineage of musical pioneers, all the way back to the dawn of human civilization , and understands that he stands on the shoulders of those who came before him. 

Since that fateful call, the two artists have become friends and collaborators . Kidjo showed up on African Giant’s “Different” and Burna Boy appeared on Kidjo’s “Do Yourself” from the galvanizing Mother Nature .

His work with other artists has helped him both expand his sound and gain global acclaim. 

Burna Boy — born as Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu — has ambitions that go far beyond streaming numbers and Grammy Awards. He wants to empower his fans with knowledge, shed light on inequalities and injustices, and unite both the African diaspora and the global population. 

“I do not identify with any tribe,” he told the New York Times . “I do not identify with any country. I do not identify with anything, really. I identify with the world in the universe — I believe I am a citizen of the world, and I have a responsibility to the world.”

That sense of responsibility is why he’s coming to New York City’s Central Park on Sept. 25 to perform at Global Citizen Live in support of the Recovery Plan for the World . In particular, Burna Boy is supporting the Demand Equity campaign pillar that calls for equity and fairness — essential to eradicating extreme poverty. 

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, he performed at One World: Together At Home to show solidarity with frontline health care workers and join the call for global vaccine equity. When the violent Nigerian police force team known as SARS became the target of mass protests later that year, Burna Boy lent his support by pledging funds to those harmed by police violence, paying for billboards around the country calling for the end of SARS and vowing to use his platform to call for justice. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Burna Boy (@burnaboygram)

But he sees music as his destiny, his way of achieving all else. During the #ENDSARS protests, for example, he released the song “20:10:20” to mourn those killed in the Lekki Massacre during protests . 

In a mix of English and Yoruba, he plaintively sings: 

We give them many chances  Dem fail my people And When we cry for justice Them kill my people Walahi all of you Their lives are on you We no go ever forget all the youths Wey die for tollgate

Burna Boy is one of the most prolific and eclectic musicians working today. Over the past decade, he’s released dozens of songs across five albums, two EPs, and two mixtapes. He’s also elevated tracks from artists such as Khalid, Headie One, Justin Bieber, Jorja Smith, and Stormzy. He calls the blend of genres he works in — dancehall, Afrobeats, hip-hop, reggaeton, R&B, rock, and others — Afro-fusion. If it sounds bold that an artist would coin a whole new genre , then you haven’t listened to Burna Boy. 

His music is dynamic and original, party-starting and on fire with purpose, joyous and cathartic. The songs on African Giant and his 2020 follow-up Twice as Tall will have you moving to the sumptuous and crackling beats, singing along with his intuitive lyrics, and reflecting afterward on your place in the world. There’s a sense that he brings his entire history — his upbringing in Port Harcourt surrounded by his parents' music, the years spent in London’s diverse music scene, his globetrotting as an adult — to every song he makes.

“I’ve never picked up a pen and paper and written down a song in my life,” he told the New York Times . “It all just comes, like someone is standing there and telling me what to say. It’s all according to the spirits. Some of us are put on this earth to do what we do.”

As he embarks on his global tour, and stops in New York, you’ll be able to see what he means. 

You can join the Global Citizen Live campaign to defend the planet and defeat poverty by taking action here , and become part of a movement powered by citizens around the world who are taking action together with governments, corporations, and philanthropists to make change.

Global Citizen Life

Demand Equity

Burna Boy Is a Global Citizen Who Wants to Unite the World

Sept. 17, 2021

• Entertainment
• Alphabetic Index
• Heads of State
• Arts & Crafts

Nigeria Famous People

With his fusion of dancehall, reggae, Afro-beat, and pop, Burna Boy emerged in the early part of the 2010s as one of Nigeria's fastest-rising stars. The LeriQ-produced 2012 single "Like to Party" proved to be his breakout track and paved the way for his full-length debut, L.I.F.E, a year later.

Over the next five years, Burna released two more albums and collaborated with a variety of artists, from J Hus and Skales to Fall Out Boy and Lilly Allen. His international exposure widened with 2018's Outside, which hit number three on the Billboard Reggae chart and won the Nigeria Entertainment Award for Album of the Year. In advance of his next LP, 2019's African Giant, Burna made his first appearance at California's Coachella festival.

Burna Boy was born Damini Ogulu in Lagos in 1991. He began making music at just ten years old when a fellow classmate at school gave him a copy of the production software FruityLoops. Armed with these means, he began to create his own beats on an old computer. After he graduated, he moved to London to attend university, but he dropped out after two years and moved back to Nigeria.

In 2010, the 19-year-old Ogulu traveled to Nigeria's southern coast, where a mutual acquaintance, producer LeriQ, had some studio space. This marked a period when he began to connect to the music of his native country, having spent most of his youth immersed in American acts like DMX. He delved into the dancehall and reggae music his father listened to, and explored the Afro-beat music preferred by his grandfather (who had also been Fela Kuti's first manager). As a result of his new discoveries, Ogulu created a confluence of genres that would become his signature sound.

With production by LeriQ, Burna Boy created "Like to Party," which marked his rise to prominence and generated a local buzz along the way. 2013 saw the release of his debut studio album; featuring guest slots from Wizkid, Timaya, 2face, and M.I., L.I.F.E drew favorable reviews from the music press. For his sophomore effort, 2015's On a Spaceship, Burna parted ways with both his record company and LeriQ, and delivered a record even more diverse than his first.

In 2017, he teamed up with producer Juls for the single "Rock Your Body." A host of singles followed throughout the year, including "GBA," "Streets of Africa," "Koni Baje," and "Sekkle Down," featuring J Hus. After releasing the Lily Allen-aided single "Heaven's Gate" in early January 2018, Burna delivered his third album, Outside, later that month.

He returned a year later with the single "Killin Dem," a collaboration with Zlatan. Along with additional singles like "Dangote" and "On the Low," it was later included on his fourth album, African Giant, which saw release in July 2019. The LP was nominated in the Best World Music Album category of the 62nd Grammy Awards.

In August 2020, Burna issued the full-length Twice as Tall, which included the single "Wonderful." Featured on the album were guest appearances by Youssou N'Dour, Naughty by Nature, Coldplay's Chris Martin, and others.

www.allmusic.com

• Privacy Policy

Burna Boy Biography: Age, Wife, Songs, Awards, Net Worth

Daminu Ogulu (born July 2, 1991) well known as Burna Boy, is an award winning Nigerian Afro-beat sensation and a prolific songwriter. He came to prominence for his hit single “Like To Party”. He left the music scene for a while only to make a major come back with back to back hit singles from “Ye” to “Angelina”. He won a Grammy Award in 2020 for his album “Twice As Tall” and hence the name “African Giant”.

Burna Boy was born on 2 July 1991 in Portharcourt. He grew up in Ahaoda, Rivers state part of Nigeria before he later relocated to Lagos state to pursue a full time career in music.

He attended the Montessori international school and later completed his secondary education at Corona, Agbara, Lagos, after which he moved to the UK to further his education.

However, his mother, Bose Ogulu, has always been the backbone of his career and thus became his manager.

Burna Boy got inspiration from the pioneer of Afro-beat, Fela Kuti. He came to limelight with the song “Like to party” which was accompanied with a video directed by Adasa Cookey for Squareball Media.

Having stood out for his swags and unique voice, the afrobeat singer has been able to find his way to the top with several outstanding songs.

He showcased his talent much better with the release of the single titled “Tonight” which was also given a befitting visuals to express his feelings.

He also has released some other hit singles like “Check and Balance”, “Run My Race”, “Yawa Dey”, “Celebrate, “Won Da Mo” featuring D’Banj.

Burna Boy who seems like a forgotten one as he was away from the music scene for a quite a while, came back in 2017 with a full force while dropping hits back to back from “Ye” to Gbona and “On a Low”.

The singer became a sensation across the globe after he released his much anticipated album “Twice As Tall” which had several top collaborations from the likes of Youssou N’Dour, Chris Martin, Sauti Sol, Stormzy and so on. The album produced numerous exciting singles like Way too big, Alarm Clock, Wonderful, Onyeka, Monsters You Made and many others. It also enjoys mouth watering production from the likes of Timberland, LeriQ, P2J, Telz, Jae5, Skread and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

Fans couldn’t get enough of his energetic vibes as he got a major collaboration with Wizkid on the single “Ginger” which also went viral online.

Awards And Nominations

Burna Boy has won numerous awards such as:

• African Artiste of the Year at Soundcity MVP Awards Festival (2019)
• Song of the Year at The Headies (2019)
• Best African Act at MTV Europe Music Awards (2019)
• Album of the Year and Song of the Year at All Africa Music Awards (2019)
• Best International Act at BET Awards (2020)
• Best International Act at MOBO Awards (2020)
• Best Global Music Album at Grammy Awards (2020)

He has got several nominations which include:

• Next Rated and Best R&B single at The Headies (2013)
• Hip Hop World Revelation of the Year at the Headies (2014)
• Best Recording of the Year at the BET Awards (2015)
• Video of the Year at MTV Europe Music Awards (2019)
• Listener’s Choice at Soundcity MVP Awards Festival (2019)

READ ALSO: Duncan Mighty Biography: Profile & Net Worth

Personal Life

Burna Boy is in a relationship with the British singer, Stefflon Don . They began dating as far back as 2019 and the two have always been pictured together online.

Net Worth & Endorsements

The reggae sensation who have taste for exotic cars, owns a Range Rover Sport and G-class Mercedes benz worth over N17 million naira and N20 million naira respectively.

He signed a multi-million deal with the Nigerian Telecommunication giant, Globacom worth over N1.3 million naira and also signed a deal with Mortell Cognac in 2016.

Burna Boy is one of the most influential Nigerian singer with an estimated net worth of $17,000,000.

Social Media

• Instagram: @burnaboygram
• twitter: @burnaboy

WANT A BIOGRAPHY THAT WILL CAPTIVATE YOUR READERS For An Affordable Fee? Give Us A TRY

FANS ALSO VIEW

Kristin juszczyk biography: wiki, age, height, husband, net worth.

Rena Wakama Biography: Wiki, Age, Height, Parents, Net Worth

Steph Curry Biography: Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth

Yemisi Ogunleye Biography: Wikipedia, Age, Height, Parents

CLICK FOR MORE CELEBRITIES BIOGRAPHY

NOTE: All Biography on this platform are for information purpose only.

Updates on Nigerian news, celebrity gossip, politics, sports and business

Burna Boy Biography, Age, Early Life, Family, Songs, Albums, Net Worth

Burna Boy Biography, Date Of Birth, Family, Early Life, Education, Entertainment Career

Some of burna boy's studio albums include:, burna boy mixtapes:-, burna boy eps, burna boy songs, burna boy endorsements and awards, burna boy net worth, social media handles, share this story.

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Pin this Post

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor Aenean massa.

You Might Also Like

Popular posts.

• Canada Visa Application: 100% Working Guide
• 7 Easy Ways To Migrate To Canada
• Canada Student Visa – How To Apply
• Guchi Biography, Age, Early Life, Family, Education, Songs, Albums, Net Worth
• Ruger Biography, Age, Early Life, Family, Songs, Albums, Net Worth

Log in /  Sign up

Burna Boy Biography: Age, Latest Songs, Awards, Net Worth, Parents, Wife, Girlfriend, Wikipedia

Comments ( 3 )

New comments （ 3 ）.

Kanye West update

interesting

[0x1f630][0x1f630][0x1f630]

Log in Sign up

Forgot password, -   or   -, please select a playlist, add new playlist.

• Set as private Set as public
• Embed How to use?

Embed: Love & Light EP

Custom size :.

• Desktop(300*600)

• HTML/HTML5 (WordPress Supported)

Get Boomplay Premium for Complete Order

Back Payment Method Pay With Review and pay Order Date Payment Method Due Today Submit

Back Flutterwave Pay

Congratulations! You have successfully activated Boomplay 1 Month Premium.

Please check your balance and then try again.

Payment is being processed by . Please wait while the order is being comfirmed.

Payment Processing Your order is processing, and it may take up to a few days for the service provider to handle your payment. Please kindly stay tuned and check your order status in ‘User Center’. Go to User Center

• Completed: Your order has been successfully paid.
• Cancelled: Your expired order will turn to "Cancelled".
• Failed: Your order was not successfully processed due to payment error.
• Processing: Your order is processing, and it may take a few days for the service provider to handle your payment. Once it notifies us the payment result, we will change the status of the order.