Nigeria’s top music star Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, better known by his stage name Burna Boy, has written his name in history as the first international Afrobeats artist to have his album debut at number one in the Official UK Albums Chart with his latest Long Play (LP) ‘I Told Them.’
Vice President of Atlantic Records U.K. Austin Daboh says in a statement:
“Burna Boy has transformed into a global superstar, and this No. 1 album reflects his growth over the last few years.
“The success of this album is the combination of world-class music, a coherent strategy based in culture, and unmatched passion, energy, and commitment from his wider team and Atlantic Records.”
Chief Executive of the Official Charts Company, Martin Talbot, says British music lovers are well known for loving new music and embracing “cultures from around the world.”
“British music fans have always been renowned for their love of new music and embracing cultures from around the world, and the explosion of interest in Afrobeats’ musical culture over the past decade has been a concrete example of this,” he said
Last year, Burna Boy came close to securing the top spot in Britain with his arguably most talked-about album ‘Love, Damini’ which made it to the second spot on the charts.
‘I Told Them’ the Albulm was released on 25 August 2023 through Atlantic, Spaceship Records, and featured J – Cole, 21 Savage, RZA, GZA, Wu–Tang Clan, Byron Messia and Seyi Vibez.
The controversial singer and self-proclaimed African Giant recently faced some backlash after he remarked during an interview, that the Afrobeats genre “lacked substance”.
“…90% of them, have almost no real-life experiences that they can understand, which is why you hear most of Nigerian music, or I’ll say African… I don’t even know what to say, Afrobeats, as people call it, it’s mostly about nothing, literally nothing. There’s no substance to it,” he had said.
The Grammy-winning singer and chart topper has been dropping hits since his 2012 breakout with the single. “Like to Party’.