Burna Boy

Nigerian singer Burna Boy opened his 2019 Apple Music Up Next spotlight with a crucial distinction: “Music’s supposed to be a universal language. You understanding what I’m saying is second. The primary thing is, what does the person inside you hear?” It’s a simple but radical thought: you can listen on your terms, but he doesn’t have to meet you halfway. Born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu in 1991 and raised on the southern coast of Nigeria before moving to London for uni, Burna has become one of the most prominent African pop artists of the 21st century. In the process, he has fused his specific background—a Nigerian man entering adulthood in the United Kingdom—with a global vision that encompasses Afrobeat, dancehall, trap, UK hip-hop and just about everything else that might fit under his diasporic umbrella. The result is an artist who isn’t confined by his identity but doesn’t dilute it either. By the time he received broader recognition through a (conspicuously uncredited) feature on Drake’s 2017 mix More Life, he was already a star in Africa. Two years later came African Giant, featuring collaborators as disparate as Angélique Kidjo, Skrillex, Damian Marley and Future while Burna sang about his experiences in a bright multilingual mélange that displayed great pride in the country of his birth. His newfound international fame only grew with his 2023 Apple Music Live performance, which saw him play songs from across his catalogue at London Stadium. That same year’s 21 Savage collab “Sittin’ on Top of the World” reminded audiences just how well his casually dynamic delivery can slot into 1990s-style rap tropes (among other sounds and eras). No wonder he has become an in-demand voice across genres, providing a fresh point of view on tracks from Sia, Stormzy and Sam Smith. More than just an ambassador for modern globe-trotting sounds, Burna brings his unmistakable personality to everything he does.