By Mercy Dauji
Burna Boy is one of the most educated song writers cum singers in the Nigerian music industry. He grew up in port harcourt but had his secondary education in Lagos before he relocated to London to study media technology. Following his graduation, he came back to Nigeria to focus on his music career. Burna boy also known as Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu today is a song writer, record producer and recording artist. He was with the label Aristokrate before he separated and presently has his record label.
Burna Boy grew to stardom in 2012 with the song “Like to party” hence, he coined his own term for his output : AFROFUSION which is a term that embodies and honors his rich mix of musical influences. Burna Boy who is a pioneer and one of the most influential Nigerian musicians in history, has used his artistic and musical skills to sing about the country’s corrupt elite and preach peace and unity, socialism and resistance. Thus, his music has captured a lot of attention both within the African continent and the western world. Burna Boy says he spends most of his spare time watching historical documentaries hence, music is a tool he uses to educate his fans.
Therefore, We can say Burna Boy’s music is educative and didactic. He tends to express life issues and circumstances in his songs. He picks from his environment and sings relating it better to the lay man who enjoys the music while the singer passes his message. Burna Boy sings as though he represents the masses. we can say he is the voice of the voiceless and champion of the masses. In his words “…Every time I go on stage it feels like I have gotten a little bit closer to achieving unity…”. Thus it can be said that he derives his theme songs from peace and National unity.
Burna Boy is one of the few Nigerian creative artists to have gotten the attention of Beyoncé and has surely gotten the Beyoncé seal of approval when she tapped him for a song “Lion King”. He is the first Nigerian to sellout the Wembley Arena. He describes his music as a genre that blends Afrobeat, dancehall, reggae, American rap and R&B. He has lots of songs to his credit which include:
-like to party – 2012
-Run my race – 2015
-pull up – 2019
