Many Nigerians have attempted to clinch a Grammy award for years, but many have failed to do so. Some of the greats like Femi Kuti and King Sunny Ade received nominations, but they couldn’t bring home the award. Others have merely longed for a nomination with no hope for success.
However, Burna Boy achieved the unthinkable. He is the first homegrown Nigerian to bring the Grammy home. He claimed this victory at the 63rd edition of the award ceremony.
On the night of the ceremony, which held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the entire country stayed up at midnight, rooting for the Nigerian music superstar to become the first homegrown singer to win the highly coveted award. And he did it in style, as he competed for the honour against Antibalas, four-time Grammy-nominated Bebel Gilberto, six-time Grammy-nominated Anoushka Shankar, and Grammy-award-winner Tinariwen, in the Best Global Music Album Category.
Burna Boy’s rise to glory started from his Burn mixtape days in 2011, leading to the release of ‘African Giant’, a critically acclaimed album that nearly earned him the ultimate prize in 2020. Later that year, the 29-year-old released his Grammy-winning album, ‘Twice as Tall’.
Ahead of the award ceremony a member of his team told Netng they were in high hopes. She said, “We are confident we put in the work. Put in the work with a good album. Put in the work with the distribution, with the publicity, and everything. So we are feeling pretty good”.
His colleagues have taken to social media to commend him and share how proud they are of him.
Timi Dakolo celebrated him with excitement saying, “Congratulations to @burnaboy and @wizkidayo . Well deserved. 🙌🙌🙌🙌❤️❤️❤️❤️”.
Femi Kuti also shared how proud he was saying, “Congratulations @burnaboy ✊🏽🎉🍾”.
Producer Don Jazzy also shared in the excitement saying, “Congrats to @burnaboy & @wizkidayo for the Grammy wins. It’s not beans at all. More wins kings . 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾 🇳🇬”
Burna Boy began his journey to winning a Grammy in 2011 after he released ‘Burn Notice’. However, his 2018 hit single Ye from his third studio album Outside exposed him to a global audience. This win comes after an impressive run in the ‘Best World Album’ category in 2020.
Juju maestro King Sunny Ade (1984 & 1999), Afrobeat king Femi Kuti (2002, 2009, 2011 & 2013), and Seun Kuti (2019) have also all previously received nominations for the Grammy award.
He deserves all the accolades he is receiving. Congratulations to the African Giant!