‘This a big win for my generation of Africans all over the world and this should be a lesson to every African out there, no matter where you are, no matter what you plan to do, you can achieve it because you are king,’’ Burna Boy’s speech after being declared winner in the ‘Best Global Album’ category at the Grammy awards.
“LOOK AT ME NOW! GRAMMY AWARD WINNING BURNA BOY!”@burnaboy with an incredible message after winning #Grammys pic.twitter.com/mIrFWRdGEM
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) March 14, 2021
Last year Burna boy, real name Damini Ogulu was nominated in the same category (then known as Best World Music Album) in 2019 but he lost out to Angelique Kidjo at the awards ceremony in 2020.
Burnaboy was mocked on twitter for his “over confidence” and “pride” … In their words “if e win am we no go hear word again”.
Burna Boy is an artist who has always trusted in his talents, was always confident of himself and took 100% pride in what he does, you’ll literally see the joy in his face when he freestyles, you could see the passion and a man who is doing what he loves to do on earth (not so many people can boast of that) but all those qualities really just hurt the unbelievers and brought out the negativity in their heart and it was at that point we knew fake love really did exist.
After his “African Giant” loss to Angelique Kidjo, he tweeted this
Burna boy did not let that loss break but instead went to work with one of the music greats Sean Combs (P.Diddy) and announced TwiceAsTall, the album that put Burna boy in the history book as a Grammy award winner.
An album Twice As Tall described by The Grammys nomination as “a masterclass in the vibe and hustle that have made Burna Boy an international musical force, He continues to torch limitations, seamlessly blending styles and genres and fearlessly fueling the fire heating the melting pot of pop, Afrobeat, dancehall, reggae and more”
The album features a wide range of international artists such as Stormzy, Senegal’s musical titan Youssou Ndour, the Kenyan band Sauti Sol, Naughty By Nature, and Chris Martin of Coldplay, and had Sean Combs as executive producer.
Born in Nigeria’s Port Harcourt, Burna Boy released his first album, LIFE, an acronym for Leaving an Impact for Eternity, in 2013.
That album was followed by the release of Redemption in 2015 and Outside in 2018 that included the international hit track, Ye.
He hit the intentional scene real hard in 2019 with the African Giant album that earned him his first Grammys nomination which he lost to Angelique Kidjo.
In 2020, he dropped the album Twice As Tall, bested fellow nominees to bag the award in the ‘Best Global Album’ category. Other nominees were Antibalas (FU Chronicles), Bebel Gilberto (Agora), Anoushka Shankar (Love Letters), and Tinariwen (Amadjar).
Congrats Best Global Music Album winner – 'TWICE AS TALL' @burnaboy ✨ #GRAMMYs
WATCH NOW ⬇️––#GRAMMYPremiere https://t.co/RxyLdKiyPX pic.twitter.com/gcaxipXkgK
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 14, 2021
History has It that on the 14th of March 2021, Burna Boy, Damini Ogulu won the first ever Grammy awards as a Nigerian Millennial artist and equally a first win as an afrobeat artists for an album.
To burst your bubble and choke your necks till kingdom come, Burna boy hit track ‘Destiny’, the 13th track on Grammy-nominated ‘African Giant’ album was included in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ inauguration playlist.
He was the only Nigerian and African artiste on the inauguration playlist.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee’s CEO, Tony Allen, explained that the playlist is meant to “honour music as a consistent vehicle that has kept us connected through a challenging year, these songs and artistes reflect the relentless spirit and rich diversity of America. They are the score to a new chapter and will help bring people together as the Biden-Harris Administration begins its important work to unite our country,’’
Burna Boy appears to be a favourite in the White House, having made former U.S. President, Barack Obama, and wife, Michelle’s playlist in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
The 63rd GRAMMY Awards came to prove the doubters wrong.
Even more pepper when he performed a medley of his songs starting with the chorus of “20:10: 20” to “Level Up’ to ‘Onyeka’ and ‘Ye’, complemented by his band ‘The Outsiders.’
CRAZY!!!🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/UN3DeiTnvJ
— 𝐕𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐙𝐍🥶 (@vibeswithharry) March 14, 2021
His performance was one of the highlights of the Grammy Premiere Ceremony.
If you read this and got to this point, I believe there’s something to take out from Burna Boy’s win, Always believe in yourself and have that confidence you can conquer anything. It’s all in his opening speech