Burna Boy
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer. He rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album "L.I.F.E" (2013). In 2017, Burna Boy signed with Bad Habit/Atlantic Records in the United States and Warner Music Group internationally. His third studio album "Outside" marked his major-label debut. In 2019, he won Best International Act at the 2019 BET Awards, and was announced as an Apple Music Up Next artist. His fourth studio album "African Giant" was released in July  2019; it won Album of the Year at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards and was nominated for a Best World Music Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. He was awarded the African Artist of the year at the 2020 VGMA's. In 2020, his album "Twice as Tall" was nominated for the same category at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, making him the first Nigerian with back-to-back nominations at the Grammys. In 2021, "Twice as Tall" won the Best World Music Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. On April 28th 2022, he became the first  African artist to headline and sell out a concert at Madison Square Gardens. Early life and education. Damini Ogulu was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. His father managed a welding company and his mother worked as a translator. His grandfather Benson Idonije once managed Fela Kuti. His mother Bose Ogulu would later become his manager. Ogulu grew up in southern Nigeria and began making his own beats using FruityLoops. He attended Corona Secondary School in Agbara (Ogun State) and relocated to London to further his studies. He later studied Media Technology at the University of Sussex. from 2008 to 2009 , then moved to Oxford Brookes University (2009–2010) to study Media Communications and Culture. He then returned to port Harcourt and took up an year-long internship at Rhythm 93.7 FM. He launched his music career after returning to Lagos. Career. 2012–2015: "L.I.F.E" and "On a Spaceship". Burna Boy's debut studio album "L.I.F.E" was released on 12 August 2013, serving as the follow-up to his second mixtape "Burn Identity" (2011). The album sold 40,000 copies on the first day of its release. Aristokrat Records later sold its marketing rights to Uba Pacific for ₦10 million. The album's  release was preceded by five singles: "Like to Party", "Tonight", "Always Love You", "Run My Race" and "Yawa Dey". "L.I.F.E" was produced entirely by Leriq and features guest artists such as 2face Idibia, M.I, Timaya, Olamide, Reminisce and Wizkid. "Nigeria Entertainment Today" ranked the album 10th on its list of the 12th Best Albums of 2013. The album's music draws heavily from the music of Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade and Bob Marley. It received generally positive reviews from music critics, who applauded its production. It was 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. In 2014, Burna Boy split from Aristokrat records. In February 2015, he founded the record label Spaceship Entertainment eight months after parting ways with Aristocrat Records. Burna Boy released his second album "On a Spaceship" on 25 November 2015. His 7-track debut EP "Redemption" was released in September 2016; its lead single "Pree Me" debuted on Noisey. 2018: "Outside" and O2 Academy Brixton performance. In January 2018, Burna Boy was featured on "Sunshine Riptide", a track from Fall Out Boy's seventh studio album  MANIA (2018). He released his third studio album "Outside" on 26 January 2018. Described as a mixtape, "Outside" consists mostly of Afrobeats, dancehall, reggae and road rap. It features guest vocals from English musicians J Hus, Lily Allen and Mabel. "Outside" was supported by six singles: "Rock Your Body", "Streets of Africa", "Koni Baje", "Sekkle Down", "Heaven's Gate" and "Ye". Its production was handled by Leriq, Baba Stiltz, Jae 5, Juls, Chopstix, Steel Banglez, Fred Gibson, Phantom and FTSE. The album received positive critical acclaim and was ranked by Pulse Nigeria and "Nigerian Entertainment Today" as the best Nigerian  album of 2018. It won Album of the Year at the 2018 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. In February 2018, "Outside" debuted at number 3 on the "Billboard" Reggae Albums chart. The album's biggest single "Ye" ended up atop most Nigerian publications year-end list as the biggest song of 2018. On 7 October 2018, Burna Boy performed before a sold-out crowd at London's O2 Academy Brixton. A day prior to the show, he held a pop-up event at Red by Little Farm and sold limited boxes of his Space Puffs cereal, as well as custom notepads, lighters  and graphic tee-shirts. On 9 October 2018, Burna Boy was announced as one of Spotify's New Afro Hub Takeover Artist. The announcement coincided with him being named YouTube's Artist on the Rise for 3 months. 2019–present: "Steel & Copper", "African Giant" and "Twice as Tall". On 3 January 2019, he was announced alongside Mr Eazi as one of the artists performing at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. He won four awards at the Soundcity MVP Awards Festival, including African Artiste of the Year, Listener's Choice and Best Male MVP. On 21 March 2019 , Burna Boy released a 4-track collaborative EP with Los Angeles-based electronic duo DJDS, titled "Steel & Copper". It blends Burna Boy's upbeat melodies with DJDS' slinky trap beats. "Steel & Copper" combines elements of dancehall and reggae music with Afropop and trap. On 24 June 2019, Burna Boy won Best International Act at the 2019 BET Awards. In July 2019, Burna Boy was announced as an Apple Music Up Next artist. His inclusion into the program was accompanied by a Beats 1 interview with Julie Adenuga and a short documentary. He recorded "Ja Ara E" (Yoruba: "wise up" or  use your head) for Beyoncé's "" and was the only guest artist with their own track on the soundtrack album. In November 2019, Burna Boy became the first Afrobeat artist to sell out the SSE Arena( formerly known as the Wembley arena). He was given a special plaque to mark his achievement. Burna Boy's fourth studio album "African Giant" was released on 26 July 2019. It has been supported by six singles: "Gbona", "On the Low", Killin Dem", "Dangote", "Anybody" and "Pull Up". He began recording the album in 2018. He told "Billboard" magazine the album is his most  personal yet. He first revealed plans to release the album in April 2019, and held a private listening session in Los Angeles. Photos and videos from the listening session were shared on social media. "African Giant" was initially announced as a 16-track album. In order to promote the album, Burna Boy headlined the African Giant Returns tour, the second leg of his African Giant tour. Burna Boy recorded "My Money, My Baby", a track that appeared on "Queen & Slim"s soundtrack album. Described as an "Afrobeat-tinged track", "My Money, My Baby" contains a sample of Fela Kuti's 1972  song "Shakara". In April 2020, Burna Boy performed in the "One World: Together at Home" special. On 19 June 2020, following the release of multiple singles during early 2020, by himself and on featured credits, Burna Boy was featured on the remix of South African producer Master KG's viral song "Jerusalema". Burna Boy utilized his signature Afrobeats style on the song and also partly sings in the isiZulu language. Burna Boy was featured on Sam Smith's single "My Oasis", which was released on 30 July 2020. Burna Boy's fifth studio album, "Twice as Tall", was released on  14 August 2020, executive produced by Diddy and Mama Burna Bose Ogulu. The album became his highest-charting project, debuting at number 1 on the Billboard World Albums Chart. On 24 November 2020, Burna Boy album "Twice as Tall" was nominated under the World Music Album category in the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards alongside other entertainers like Antibalas, Bebel Gilberto, Anoushka Shankar and Tianariwen. This is the second year in a row that Burna Boy is getting a nomination in this category. He won an Edison award in the World Album category for "African Giant", and the Best International Act  at the MOBO Awards on 9 December, shaking off competition from Drake, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Baby and Roddy Ricch. At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards held on March 15, 2021, he won the Grammy for Best Global Music album. Burna Boy′s ″Destiny″ was included in the playlist at the inauguration of Joe Biden. He added another achievement to his repertoire at the BET awards 2021 where he won the Best International Act. With this win, Burna Boy becomes the first African artiste to bag three nominations and wins consecutively, having won the BET Award in 2019, 2020 and now  in 2021. Burna Boy was featured on Jon Bellion's single "I Feel It", released on 17 September 2021. Personal life. Burna Boy began dating Stefflon Don in 2018. A fan of Manchester United, he took part in the official launch of their new away kit in September 2020. Appearances. Burna Boy appeared on the cover of the May 2021 edition of the British edition of GQ Magazine. In October 2021, Burna Boy was on the cover of "Evening Standard" Magazine. His mansion in Lagos was featured in the October 2021 edition of "Architectural Digest" and on the AD YouTube  channel. Controversies. Burna Boy's outspoken views have made him a controversial figure in the Nigerian and African entertainment industry. He has been in a feud with South African rapper AKA over anti-Nigerian tweets. In July 2019, Burna Boy posted controversial and threatening tweets after South Africa lost to Nigeria at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. On 28 November 2019, Burna Boy was involved in an altercation with fellow Nigerian musician Davido at a nightclub in Accra, Ghana. The altercation resulted in the night club's bouncers escorting Burna Boy and his entourage out of the building. This  was a result of a feud between the two that started over Instagram. Artistry. Burna Boy describes his music as Afro-fusion, a genre that blends Afrobeats, dancehall riddims, reggae, American rap and R&B. August Brown of the "Los Angeles Times" said Burna Boy's sound is "savvy and modern but undistracted by obvious crossover moves".