As far as the entertainment industry is concerned, 2019 will go down as the most successful year for Atlantic Records’ star, Burna Boy (Damini Ogulu).
He had a string of hit singles and capped up the year with a Grammy nomination for his album, African Giant, in the Best World Music Album category alongside four other international artistes, an honour only bestowed upon only a few Nigerians including King Sunny Ade and Femi Kuti.
And as the countdown to the 62nd edition of the Grammy Awards scheduled for January 26 at Staples Center, Los Angeles hits a climax; there is excitement in the air for Burna Boy who is on the verge of making history as the first contemporary Nigerian artiste to win a Grammy.
Burna Boy rose to prominence in 2012 after releasing Like to Party. In 2017, he signed a deal with US-based Bad Habit/Atlantic Records and Warner Music Group international. Two years after, he won Best International Act at the 2019 BET Awards and was announced as Apple Music’s Up Next Artist. His fourth studio album, African Giant was released in July 2019.
Ever since he hit the scene, Burna Boy’s career has been on the upswing. He describes his music as Afro-fusion, a genre that blends Afrobeat, dancehall, reggae, American rap and R&B. While Sunny Ade had four Grammy nominations, Femi Kuti got three and Wizkid received one in 2017.
Meanwhile, a Nigerian artiste, Lekan Babalola won two Grammy awards many years ago and it was by association. The first was in 2006 for his work on Ali Farka Toure’s album, In The Heart of The Moon and the second was for his collaboration on Cassandra Wilson’s 2009 album.