|
 Burna Boy was awarded a Grammy
for the Best Global Music Album this month for
'Twice As Tall' which was released last year.
He is part of a generation of Nigerian music
artists, which include Wizkid and Davido, that
has enjoyed global success in recent years as
proponents of the Afrobeats sound. The African
genre is now almost as likely to be heard in
London or Los Angeles as it is in Lagos.
"It's a big moment and a big time for African
music and Africans in general," said Burna Boy,
during an interview at his home in Nigeria's
commercial capital Lagos.
The artist, whose real name is Damini Ogulu,
said his award was part of a "domino effect"
that gives Africans more control over the way
they are perceived through technology, as
streaming services take the continent's arts to
a global audience.
"I didn't even want to be African when I was
little," he said. "I wanted to be anything but
who I was, because who we are wasn't really the
cool thing to be," said the artist, who grew up
in southern Nigeria and moved to London as a
child before returning to the west African
country.
He said his win showed that African music was
attracting worldwide respect.
[to top of second column]
|
 Those sentiments were shared by
many at Edge Music Academy, in the Jakande
district of Lagos, where students compose music
in a studio decked out with microphones, laptops
and a keyboard.
"The future is bright," said student Obi Prince.
"The way Afrobeats is represented in the world
right now can only be a start for Nigerian
artists. We just have to do our thing and bring
out ourselves more globally," he said.
The academy's chief executive officer, Michael
Tijani, said Burna Boy's win was a "huge deal"
for Nigerian music.
"People coming into the industry now have a more
concrete belief that you can actually get as far
as anybody else in the world can go," he said.
Reclining in a chair in his home studio, Burna
Boy reflected on his success.
"You can't mention the top five musicians in the
world without throwing me or an African in
there," he said, smiling. "Now we're eye to eye
with the people we used to look up to."
(Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by
Marguerita Choy)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content |
