Grammy award winner, Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy believes that his award was a win for Africa and the mental cycle of its people. In a recent interview with British GQ, the Nigerian afro-fusion artiste shed some light on his recent win.
“I wasn’t celebrating because of myself. It was almost as if I’ve broken a mental cycle of our people,” Burna Boy tells British GQ. “Because our people have been very mentally oppressed to feel like they can’t do certain things and that certain things are unreachable. You are what you think, at the end of the day.”
He added that it was “…time to start thinking about ourselves, not what the society said we should be or what our limitations say we should be. I’ve come from Port Harcourt, the bottom of the map in Nigeria, and now I’ve become a champion. It may not mean anything to someone else, but to me, and to us, it means more than you can imagine.”
Eelive.ng reports that Burna Boy was celebrated by Nigerians home and abroad for his historic win. It was the first time a Nigerian solo musician would win the Grammys for Best Global Music Album. He was also given a grand welcome when he was hosted by the Governor of his state, Rivers, Nyesom Wike.
African Giant
The African Giant coroner explained that music is the strongest way to get a message across. “Music is the strongest way to get a message across. I feel like that’s the role of music in all this. And now there’s a few people playing that role, so we’re heading in that direction,” Ogulu explained.
Burna Boy has worked hard to project his music for activism. He has also contributed to national issues with songs like 20-10-20, Collateral Damage, and Ye. He is also known for his passion for Africa and his belief in Africa’s uprising.
“In Africa, we’re the place that everything comes from,” he tells me, his style ever forthright. “Anything that makes any powerful country powerful comes from Africa. We have all the resources. We have gold, we have everything.”
“What don’t we have? Why are we still not the world power? It’s because we’re not united. We’re not able to carry that kind of weight because of our lack of unity and our lack of understanding of each other. That’s simply what it comes down to,”says Ogulu in latest interview.
Burna Boy’s grandfather is Benson Idonjie, the former stage manager for the late, Fela Kuti. Also, his mother, Bose Ogulu is his manager.