2019: The Year of The Burna

In January 2019, Afro-fusion star, Damini Ogulu aka Burna Boy, had to make a mighty big fuss before performing at the popular American music festival, Coachella. His name on the poster was so small he probably needed magnifying glasses to spot it. But he went on to have such a good year that by August, he was guest on the high-profile talk-show, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, which often hosts personalities like Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Hillary Clinton, Christiane Amanpour, Edward Snowden, and Oprah Winfrey. Such is the dizzying height Burna Boy has attained.

Ogulu’s international appeal has been built on a mix of talent, hard work and chance. In 2018, he released the single “Ye”. Fortunately for him, some months later, the American star, Kanye West, also released his eighth studio album and decided to title it “Ye”. We don’t know of any other accidental endorsements of this magnitude in pop history. Americans searching for Kanye West’s “Ye” began to stumble upon Burna Boy’s “Ye”. They sampled it, liked it and have stayed Burna Boy’s fans. Kanye helped, but Burna Boy was prepared.

Before his international success the conversation surrounding Burna Boy was whether or not he was overlooked. He believed he was. He constantly spoke out when he was not nominated for major national award shows. Now, his international fame has skyrocketed with every milestone. He has shutdown Wembley SSE Arena in London amongst other venues in the African Giant album tour. He continues to headline concerts and shows both home and abroad – including his much-anticipated concert in Lagos this December.

Early in the summer, one of the world’s most talented artists and multi-award-winning international sensation, Beyoncé, released the much-anticipated album, Lion King: The Gift featuring several African artists. Burna Boy and a host of other African artistes such as Wizkid, Tiwa Savage and Yemi Alade were featured on the album. Notably, Burna was the only African solo artiste on the album with the hit song JA ARE E. Still riding on the waves of this famous feature, Burna Boy released his fifth studio album, African Giant, on the 26^th of July and it couldn’t have come at a better time!

Following his late-night debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Burna Boy pulled a stunning performance of ‘Anybody’ and ‘Ye’. On The Daily Show, Burna sat down with South African comedian and author, Trevor Noah to discuss various topics including the events which led to his infamous outburst at the organizers of American concert, Coachella earlier in the year.

In the interview, Burna Boy explained the reason for his reaction to the Coachella poster in March 2019. Burna said he felt disrespected because his name was written in such small fonts emphasising that he could not find his name when he first saw the poster. He had to ask for his name to be circled for him to identify it.

“That’s never happened to me before. I am used to being the African giant”, Burna told Noah. This became the birthplace of the moniker – “African Giant”.

“I didn’t like it and I expressed myself. Not just for that, but so everyone that comes after me won’t have to go through that,” he said. Coming to Burna’s defence, Noah also agreed that “one of the biggest acts in Africa” should have “one of the biggest fonts on the page.”

He said he was fighting for all international artists who come to perform at Coachella, in order for them not to be subjected to such limitations by American platforms.

A public persona as the “African Giant” is not an easy one to uphold,  although Burna does so quite effortlessly. With his mindblowing success, his swagger and a charming arrogance, the creation of this album begins an era where he sticks a claim as one of the biggest artists in Africa.

In his interview with Tidal, Burna talked about the creation of his breakout hit ‘Yè’. He had just bought a Bentley, and to celebrate, he went clubbing for a week. One night, he was approached by Shina Peller who had a beat on his phone and persuaded Burna Boy to record a song for a then up-and-coming record producer Phantom. Ye was recorded in less than 10 minutes and Burna says he spent most of that time listening to the playback. In the song the lines ‘my ni*** what’s it gon be? G Wagon or the Bentley?’ and ‘shout out Shina Peller that’s my bro my family’ are testaments to how the immediate environment influenced the song.

To finish the year on a high note, Burna Boy’s “African Giant” has been nominated in the Best World Music Album category at the 62nd GRAMMY Awards, the most prestigious music award in the world. Burna Boy was also nominated for the MTV music awards. He has won a BET award. He performed at the 2019 Coachella music festival, his album ‘Outside’ peaked at number three on the Billboard reggae charts. He sold out the 02 Brixton Academy in London last October. He has collaborated with artists like Drake, Beyoncé, Wizkid, J Hus, Stormzy, Ed Sheeran, and Fall Out Boy. He has not only caught up but surpassed, a success story indeed.