Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu is a Nigerian singer and songwriter, known professionally by the name “Burna Boy.”
Damini was born on July 2, 1991 to Bose and Samuel Ogulu and grew up on the Ahoada River State, Port Harcourt. He attended primary school at Montessori International School and then Corona Secondary School in Lagos. It was during these years that he began making music after receiving a copy of a production software FruitLoops from a friend at school -beginning by creating his own beats on his computer. (Genius, nd.)
After graduating, Damini moved to London for university. Unfortunately, while he was in the UK, he became involved with a gang, which got him an 11 month prison sentence with 2 months parole. When he left the UK after 2 years to pursue is musical career in Nigeria, he was barred from entering the UK for 15 years for breaking his parole. The ban was later removed 5 years early, allowing him to perform his first show in London in 2021 despite his previous mishaps in the country (Akinsanya, 2021).
Burna Boy’s performance at the O2 Arena, photos courtesy of @kymages
After leaving London to return to Nigeria, the 19 year old Burna Boy met up with his acquaintance, producer Leriq at his studio in southern Nigeria. They first began by putting out mixtapes and gaining popularity in Port Harcourt which led to Damini to get signed with Aristokrat records. Ogulu’s culture is very important to him and this is evident in his music and performance. He spent this time in Nigeria to connect to the music of the culture of his home and conjoined then to his music taste which was immersed in American musical acts. Much of his inspiration for his sound is drawn from and formed by artists that he was exposed to by his grandparents, his father and his uncle while growing up such as Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Shabba Ranks, and Bob Marley as well as some DMX and Busta Rhymes to name a few. The sound of Burna Boy is a miss mash of a few different music genres; some R&B, reggae, dancehall riddims, American rap, and blends of acrobats which, combined together, shape his Afrofusion sound and style (Ogunnaike, 2020).
Burna Boy’s musical albums in order of release, courtesy of AOTY
Together, with LeriQ, Burna Boy put out “Like to Party” in 2012, which gained local and international popularity, and was followed by the release of Burna Boys debut album “LIFE” or “Leaving an Impact for Eternity” in 2013. In 2015, Ogulu released of his second album “On a Spaceship” in 2015 and his EP “Redemption” the following year in 2016. In 2018 he dropped the album “Outside,” which was followed in 2019 by his EP “Steel and Copper.” Late that year, in July 2019, Burna Boy put out “African Giant”, which would prove to be his most commercially successful album, later receiving a Grammy nomination for The Best World Music Album. On August 14, 2020 Burna Boy released Grammy winning album “Twice as Tall,” executive produced by Diddy, which took the win for Best Globe Music Award. Most recently he released “Rotate,” a collaboration with Becky G, a sólo song “Kilometer,” and another collaboration titled “Want it All” with rapper Polo G. (Genius, nd.)
Burna Boy is more than just a musical persona. His role gives him the responsibility of using his platform with purpose. In contemplation of the past and present of Africa’s existence, Ogulu most wants to see the unification of the continent. In an interview with GQ magazine from this past year, he says, “In Africa, we’re the place that everything comes from. 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.” (Ekpoudom, 2021) Burna Boy recognizes the power that music has to convey messages and understands the potential impact his influence could have. Some things are beyond ourselves, and so as he continues in his interview, touches on how important it is to think beyond oneself, at least for him in view of the potential impact of his actions. He is, in a way, revealing the truths of the history of his country and the entire continent through his music.
Works Cited
Featured Photo courtesy of PRINCE GYASI
Akinsanya , Tomi. “Moment Nigerian Singer, Burna Boy Arrives at 02 Arena …” Global Times Nigeria, 28 Aug. 2021, https://globaltimesng.com/2021/08/28/moment-nigerian-singer-burna-boy-arrives-at-02-arena-concert-in-a-spaceship-in-london-video/.
“Burna Boy – Discography.” Album of The Year, n.d., https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/27271-burna-boy/.
“Burna Boy.” Genius, https://genius.com/artists/Burna-boy.
“Burna Boy – Want It All Feat. Polo G (Official Video).” YouTube, YouTube, 30 Sept. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0FE2Hjn30E.
Ekpoudom, Aniefiok. “Burna Boy: ‘I Have to Think for a Whole Generation’.” British GQ, 30 Apr. 2021, https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/burna-boy-interview-2021.
Gists, Naija. “Burna Boy Deported & Banned from UK for Murder: Nigerian Singer Stabbed Man to Death.” NaijaGists.com – Proudly Nigerian DIY Motivation & Information Blog, 3 Dec. 2013, https://naijagists.com/burna-boy-deported-banned-from-uk-for-murder-nigerian-singer-stabbed-man-to-death/.
“Location of Lagos.” Internet Geography, 14 Jan. 2021, https://www.internetgeography.net/topics/location-of-lagos/.
“Nigeria’s Burna Boy Wins Bet Award for the Third Time.” Business Insider, Business Insider.
Ogunnaike, Lola, and Photography by Prince Gyasi. “Burna Boy Is Trying to Wake up Africa.” GQ, 4 Mar. 2020.
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