Afrobeats megastar Burna Boy is still ‘a work in progress’, his mother says

Burna Boy has had an incredible year.

The Nigerian megastar made history as the first African musician to headline a sold-out stadium show in the US, as well as the UK. Meanwhile, his latest album, I Told Them…, shot into the top 10 in charts across the world.

However, according to his mother, Burna Boy has not yet fulfilled his potential.

“I admire the diligence, the hard work but he’s still a work in progress,” Bose Ogulu, who also manages the Afrobeats singer, told the BBC’s Nyasha Michelle.

“There are many more milestones to attain. We need to not just step down and look at what we’ve done, but keep doing more.”

Affectionately dubbed Mama Burna by fans, Ms Ogulu rivals Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner for the title of ultimate “momager”.

Mama Burna learnt the trade from her own father, who managed the late Nigerian icon Fela Kuti. Away from music, she’s also an accomplished businesswoman and linguist.

“I ran a language school for 18 years. I quickly understood the power of languages and the power of culture,” Ms Ogulu, who on Sunday joined the likes of Stormzy, Mohamed Salah and Mo Farah as a Best of Africa award-winner.

In order to manage Burna, Ms Ogulu had to step away from the language school – a decision she says she was confident in making.

“I have known since he was probably 13 or 14 that he was going to be great at something. I had already seen him in the studio, I had already watched him form a high school band,” she said.

“From when he was in JSS3, which I think would be Year 9, we started trading studio time for grades. I would say: ‘OK, if you make a B or an A in this, I’ll pay for studio time during your mid-term’.”

However, she “wasn’t prepared” for Burna Boy to drop out of university in order to pursue his burgeoning music career.

She said: “That was my problem, like ‘OK you can do this, but you’re almost there. How about you just finish this degree programme’.

“That’s where the African in me came out. Together his father, my father and I sat down and told him the consequences of doing it his way and he was like: ‘That’s fine’.”

Burna Boy has since won a Grammy and toured the world with his music, so the gamble has clearly paid off.

So where do the mother-son duo go from here?

“If we’re doing four stadiums, let’s do 10,” Ms Ogulu said.

“There’s always a higher level to get to – and that should be our focus.”

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