History of Burna Boy in Timeline
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, known as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved fame in 2012 with "Like to Party," the lead single from his debut album L.I.F.E (2013). In 2017, he signed with Atlantic Records in the US and released his third studio album, Outside (2018).
July 2, 1991: Birth and Early Life
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu was born on July 2, 1991, in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
July 1991: Birth of Burna Boy
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, known as Burna Boy, was born in July 1991.
2008: University Education
Burna Boy began studying media technology at the University of Sussex in 2008.
2009: Move to Oxford Brookes
Burna Boy moved to Oxford Brookes University to study media communications and culture in 2009.
2010: Return to Nigeria
Burna Boy returned to Port Harcourt in 2010 and interned at Rhythm 93.7 FM.
2011: Release of "Burn Identity"
Burna Boy released his second mixtape, Burn Identity, in 2011.
2012: Rise to Stardom
Burna Boy rose to prominence in 2012 with the release of "Like to Party".
August 2013: L.I.F.E Album Release
Burna Boy's debut album, L.I.F.E, was released in August 2013.
2013: Debut Album Release
Burna Boy released his debut studio album, L.I.F.E, in 2013.
2014: Split from Aristokrat Records
Burna Boy parted ways with Aristokrat Records and later founded Spaceship Entertainment in 2014.
2014: Nomination for Best Album
L.I.F.E was nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.
November 2015: Release of "On a Spaceship"
Burna Boy released his second studio album, On a Spaceship, in November 2015.
September 2016: Release of "Redemption"
Burna Boy released his debut EP, Redemption, in September 2016.
2017: Signing with Atlantic Records
In 2017, Burna Boy signed with Atlantic Records in the US and Warner Music Group internationally.
January 2018: Collaboration and Album Release
Burna Boy was featured on Fall Out Boy's song and released his album Outside in January 2018.
February 2018: Billboard Chart Debut
Outside debuted on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart in February 2018.
October 9, 2018: Spotify and YouTube Recognition
Burna Boy was announced as a Spotify Afro Hub takeover artist and YouTube's Artist on the Rise on October 9, 2018.
October 2018: Sold-Out Show and Pop-up Event
Burna Boy performed a sold-out show at London's O2 Academy Brixton and held a pop-up event in October 2018.
2018: Start of African Giant Recording
Burna Boy began recording the album African Giant in 2018.
2018: Release of "Outside"
Burna Boy released his third studio album, Outside, in 2018.
January 2019: Coachella Announcement
Burna Boy was announced as a Coachella performer in January 2019.
March 2019: Release of "Steel & Copper"
Burna Boy released the collaborative EP Steel & Copper with DJDS in March 2019.
April 2019: African Giant Announcement and Listening Session
Burna Boy revealed plans to release African Giant in April 2019 and hosted a private listening session in Los Angeles.
June 2019: BET Award Win
Burna Boy won Best International Act at the 2019 BET Awards in June.
July 2019: African Giant Release
Burna Boy released his fourth studio album, African Giant, in July 2019. It featured six singles and was considered his most personal project.
July 2019: Apple Music Up Next and Lion King Soundtrack
Burna Boy was named an Apple Music Up Next artist and featured on The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack in July 2019.
November 2019: Collaboration, Single Release, and Arena Success
In November 2019, Burna Boy collaborated with Ed Sheeran on Stormzy's single "Own It" and became the first Afrobeat artist to sell out the SSE Arena.
2019: Burna Boy's reaction to Johannesburg riots
In 2019, following xenophobic attacks in Johannesburg, South Africa, Burna Boy publicly condemned the violence and pledged to boycott the country until the government addressed the issue.
2019: BET Award and Apple Music Up Next
Burna Boy won Best International Act at the BET Awards and was named an Apple Music Up Next artist in 2019. He also released his album African Giant.
April 2020: One World: Together at Home Performance
Burna Boy performed in the One World: Together at Home special in April 2020.
June 2020: Jerusalema Remix Feature
In June 2020, Burna Boy was featured on the remix of Master KG's "Jerusalema".
July 2020: My Oasis Collaboration
Burna Boy was featured on Sam Smith's single "My Oasis" in July 2020.
August 2020: Twice as Tall Release
Burna Boy's fifth studio album, Twice as Tall, was released in August 2020, executive produced by Diddy and Bose Ogulu.
August 2020: Release of "Twice as Tall"
Burna Boy's fifth studio album, Twice as Tall, was released in August 2020.
November 2020: Grammy Nomination
Twice as Tall was nominated for Best Global Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in November 2020.
2020: Supporting #EndSARS and releasing "20-10-20"
In 2020, Burna Boy took several actions related to social and political issues. He established a relief fund for victims of the #EndSARS protests against police brutality in Nigeria. He also released the single "20-10-20," addressing the Lekki shooting incident during the protests and speaking out against bad governance and corruption.
March 2021: Collaboration with Justin Bieber
In March 2021, Burna Boy was featured on Justin Bieber's song "Loved by You".
March 2021: Grammy Win and BET Award
Burna Boy won the Grammy award for Best Global Music album for Twice as Tall in March 2021. He also won Best International Act at the 2021 BET Awards.
September 2021: Collaboration with Jon Bellion
Burna Boy was featured on Jon Bellion's single "I Feel It" in September 2021.
2021: Another BET Award Win
Burna Boy won Best International Act at the 2021 BET Awards.
June 2022: Performance in Zimbabwe
Burna Boy performed at the Belgravia Sports Stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe in June 2022.
June 2022: Lagos Nightclub Incident
In June 2022, Burna Boy's security escorts were allegedly involved in a shooting at a Lagos nightclub.
July 8, 2022: Love, Damini Release
Burna Boy released his sixth studio album, Love, Damini, on July 8, 2022.
December 2022: First Concert in Jamaica
Burna Boy held his first concert in Jamaica at the Jamaica National Stadium in December 2022.
2022: Release of "Love, Damini"
Burna Boy released his sixth studio album, Love, Damini, in 2022, achieving chart success.
2022: NME Award
Burna Boy was named the "Best Solo Act in the World" by NME in 2022.
January 2023: Denial of Rumors
During his Love, Damini tour in January 2023, Burna Boy denied rumors about the nightclub shooting and his mother's alleged connection to Fela Kuti.
April 2023: Mera Na Release
Burna Boy released "Mera Na" featuring Sidhu Moose Wala in April 2023.
June 2023: Sittin' On Top Of The World Release
Burna Boy released "Sittin' On Top Of The World", sampling Brandy's "Top of the World", in June 2023.
June 2023: UEFA Champions League Final Performance
On June 10, 2023, Burna Boy became the first African artist to perform at the UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show.
2023: Accolades and Recognition
In 2023, Burna Boy was recognized by Rolling Stone and won his fourth Best International Act at the BET Awards, as well as The Headies awards.