Burna Boy is a Nigerian afro-fusion singer and songwriter. He is the CEO of Spaceship Entertainment record label, and enjoys both international and local popularity.
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Burna Boy Background.
Burna boy whose birth names are Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu was born on the 2nd of July 1991 as the first child of Mr and Mrs Ogulu in Ahaoda, Rivers State, Nigeria. He started making music at the age of 10 after his classmate gave him the FuityLoops software for music production.
When Burna Boy was in secondary school, he formed a music band which performed at concerts. He went to London to further his education but dropped out because of his passion for music. His love for music made his mother get him a job as an intern at a radio station. 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 back up should power supply go off at the studio.
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Burna Boy’s Cars.
Burna Boy loves not just flashy but quality and luxurious things. This is reflected in his fleet of cars. He has a Mercedes Benz that is worth over 20 million Naira, a range rover sports car worth over 18 million Naira, a G-wagon, and a Lexus salon 2015, etc.
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His Rise to Fame
Burna boy became famous in the music industry in 2012, after he released his hit single ‘Like to Party’ from his debut album L.I.F.E. Although the album was debuted on the 13th of August 2013 by Aristokrat Records, five singles from the album were released in 2012. They sold 40,000 copies of L.I.F.E. on the first day of its release and sold its marketing rights to Uba Pacific for 10 million Naira.
The album was produced by Leriq. Other artists features in the album are 2face, M.I, Reminisce, Wizkid, Timaya, and Olamide. The album was inspired by Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade and Bob Marley. Music critics applauded L.I.F.E. for being versatile. It ranked number 7 on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart.
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Spaceship Entertainment.
Burna boy left Aristokrat records in 2014, and in 2015 he established his record label: Spaceship entertainment. He debuted his second album ‘On a Spaceship’ under his new record label on the 25th of November 2015. The multi-talented singer didn’t stop there, he kept working hard to produce good music, and on the 26th of January 2018, we saw the result of his hard work, as he debuted his 3rd studio album – Outside.
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Burna boy described Outside as a mixtape because it is a mix of Afro-beats, dancehall, reggae, and road rap. He featured J Hus, Lily Allen and Mabel (all foreign singers) in the album. Outside was produced by Leriq, Baba Stiltz, Jae 5, Juls, Chopstix, Steel Banglez, Fred Gibson, Phantom, and FTSE. The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart in February 2018.
I would say Burna Boy is an upcoming legendary musician. Because he makes music for his enjoyment and understands that music is an art and not a game, we should keep expecting nothing less than lit music from him all the time.
Again, on the 21st of March 2019, Burna Boy released a 4-track collaborative EP titled Steel & Copper, in which he collaborated with Los Angeles-based electronic duo DJDS. Burna Boy is ready to debut another album; African Giant on the 26th of July 2019. This album is expected to be smoking hot as Burna Boy has never disappointed his fans. His passion for music reflects flawlessly in his songs. Meanwhile, he already held a private listening session for the album.
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Burna Boy Albums.
- L.I.F.E – 2013
- On a Spaceship – 2015
- Outside – 2018
- African Giant – 2019
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Mixtapes of Burna Boy
- Burn Notice – 2011
- Burn Identity – 2011
Burna Boy’s Eps
- Redemption – 2016
- Steel and Copper (with DJDS) – 2019
Selected Singles of Burna Boy
- Shobeedo (Freestyle) a non-album single – 2011.
- Like to Party produced by Leriq in the album L.I.F.E – 2012.
- Tonight produced by Leriq in the album L.I.F.E – 2012.
- Run My Race produced by Leriq in the album L.I.F.E – 2013.
- Yawa Dey produced by Leriq in the album L.I.F.E – 2013.
- Celebrate produced byGospelOnDeBeatz as a non-album single – 2013.
- Won Da Mo (featuring D’banj) produced by DeeVee as a non-album single – 2013.
- Rockstar produced by Leriq as a non-album single – 2014.
- Don Gorgon produced by Spellz as a non-album single – 2014.
- Check and Balance produced by Spellz as a non-album single – 2014.
- The Realest produced by Simba Tagz in the album On a Spaceship – 2015.
- Rizzla produced by J Fem in the album On a Spaceship – 2015.
- Pree Me produced by Leriq in the Redemption EP – 2016.
- Mandem Anthem produced by Fresh as a non-album single – 2016.
- Gba produced by Chopstix as a non-album single – 2017.
- Koni Baje produced by P2J in the album Outside – 2017.
- Rock Your Body produced by Juls in the album Outside – 2018.
- Heaven’s Gate (featuring Lily Allen) produced by Fred Gibson in the album Outside – 2018.
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- Sekkle Down (featuring J Hus) produced by Jae5 in the album Outside – 2018.
- Devil in California produced by P2J in the album Outside – 2018.
- Ye produced by Phantom in the album Outside – 2018.
- On the Low produced by Kel P as a non-album single – 2018.
- Gbona produced by Kel P as a non-album single – 2018.
- Killin Dem (featuring Zlatan) produced by Kel P as a non-album single – 2018.
- Dangote produced by Kel P as a non-album single – 2019.
- Anybody produced by P2J as a non-album single – 2019.
Songs Burna Boy Has Been Featured In
- Amorawa with Wande Coal in a non-album single – 2013.
- Gba Gbe E with DJ Spinall in a non-album single – 2014.
- Temper with Skales in a non-album single – 2016.
- Ayepo (Remix) with Airboyin a non-album single– 2017.
- Gbefun One Time with Skales in the album The Never Say Never Guy – 2017.
- Name On It with Four of Diamonds – 2018.
- Sunshine Riptide with Fall Out Boy in the album Mania in 2018.
- Your Choice with Lily Allen in the album No Shame – 2018.
- Serious with DJ Spinall in the album Iyanu – 2018.
- Baba Nla with Larry Gaaga (also featuring 2Baba and D’banj) in a non-album single – 2018.
- All My Life with Major Lazer in the album Africa Is the Future – 2018.
- Legend with Show Dem Camp in the album Palm Wine Music 2 – 2018.
- Champion Lover with Peruzzi in the album Heartwork – 2018.
- Location with Dave in the album Psychodrama – 2019.
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Burna Boy’s Music Videos.
- P.A.I.D directed by Sesan in 2015.
- Pree Me directed by Meji Alabi in 2016.
- Déjà vu directed by Clarence Peters in 2017.
- Hallelujah directed by Mat Max in 2017.
- Heaven’s Gate/Sekkle Down directed by Clarence Peters in 2018.
- Ye directed by Clarence Peters in 2018.
- Gbona directed by Clarence Peters in 2018.
- On the Low directed by Meji Alabi in 2018.
- Killin Dem produced by Prodigeezy in 2019.
- Dangote directed by Clarence Peters in 2019.
- Anybody directed by Clarence Peters in 2019.
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Burna Boy Endorsements.
As is the norm for Nigerian musicians to be brand ambassadors for companies, Burna boy is not left out as he has his share of endorsements Currently, he is a brand ambassador to Globacom, Nigerian Breweries Plc, and Mortell Cognac.
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Quotes of Burna Boy.
“…We are very strong people who are very good at adapting to situations and making the best of the worst situations. That’s the spirit we have you know.”
“Whatever way you choose, you’re the one that chose it, so you’re responsible for it. So you have to make the best of it.”
“YouTube is for me, that’s how people started seeing me, and not just hearing. That is a way to get yourself across, people across the world see what you do, and it’s absolutely free.”
“…Some people that hail you will tear you down, so it never mattered to me. I just do what’s true to me, that’s all. Overrate or underrate doesn’t change shit! Truth needs no validation from ignorance.”
“It takes time for everything to fall into place, but when you know what should fall into place, it would definitely fall into place, no matter how long it takes.”
“…From my happy place to create a happy place for a lot of people. I feel like that’s the biggest achievement anyone can ever get. You can’t plan that; it is God’s work.”
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Nominations of Burna Boy.
- Nominated at The Headies for Next Rated in 2013.
- Best R&B Single Nominee at the Headies 2014.
- Nominated L.I.F.E at the Headies as the Best R&B/Pop Album in 2014.
- Hip Hop World Revelation of the Year nominee at the Headies 2014.
- L.I.F.E was nominated for the Album of the Year at the Headies 2014.
- Nigeria Entertainment Awards nominated him for the Best Pop Artist of the Year in 2015.
Awards of Burna Boy
- Best New Act of the Year at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards in 2013.
- South South Music Awards named Like to Party as Best Pop in 2013.
- MTV Africa Music Awards honoured him as the Best New Act in 2014.
- L.I.F.E was named Best Album of the Year at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards in 2015.
- YouTube artist on the rise in 2018.
- ‘Ye’ was named as Listener’s Choice at the Soundcity MVP Awards Festival in 2019.
- At the Soundcity MVP Awards Festival Ye was named as the Song of the Year in 2019.
- He was named Best Male MVP at the Soundcity MVP Awards Festival in 2019.
- African Artiste of the Year at the Soundcity MVP Awards Festival in 2019.
- Best International Act at the BET Awards 2019.
- Apple Music Up Next Artist in July 2019.
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Net Worth of Burna Boy.
Aside from being an international music star, Burna Boy also has endorsements with companies like Globacom, Star Lager beer etc. Also, tickets for his shows are always sold out, home and abroad. So, it is expected that he has a high net worth. Although his net worth has not been officially stated, according to naijaquest.com, Burna Boy’s net worth is estimated at$10million.
Life Lesson from Burna Boy.
Passion is key in anything you set your heart to do. If you’re not passionate about it, then your chances of succeeding will be slim. Even if you succeed, it will be short lived as your energy will wear out.
Always have something that drives you outside of money, so when the money takes time to come, you will not be disappointed and give up.
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Image Credit: @burnaboy (Instagram and Twitter)
