Earlier this week, Burna Boy announced his ‘I Told Them…Tour.’ The arena tour kicks off on Nov. 3 at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., marking the artist’s first performance at an LA stadium. This arena venture will be the Afro-fusion star’s third headlining tour and an exciting follow-up to his Love, Damini tour last summer. Read on to learn more about Burna Boy’s upcoming tour and his rise to fame.
Who Is Burna Boy?
Damini Ogulu, who performs as Burna Boy, was born and raised in the city of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, with his two sisters. Growing up, Ogulu spent a lot of time listening to classical music with his maternal grandfather, who was the former manager of Fela Kuti, an iconic Nigerian artist. The influence of both men and listening to American hip-hop stoked Ogulu’s interest in music. By age 10, he started making music with a digital audio program called FL Studio.
In 2010, Ogulu dropped out of university and completed a year-long internship with Rhythm 93.7 FM. He then signed with Aristocrat Records, launching his professional music career and releasing two mixtapes, Burn Notice (2011) and Burn Identity (2012).
Burna Boy released his debut album, L.I.F.E. in 2013, which featured the lead singles “Like to Party” and “Tonight.” L.I.F.E. was well-received and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.
Burna Boy’s Rise to Fame
In 2018, Burna Boy received national and international acclaim for his third album, Outside. The album featured six singles, including “Rock Your Body,” “Streets of Africa” and “Ye.” The third track made Billboard’s Afrobeats and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts and within seven months had more than 11 million streams on major US streaming platforms.
Outside, which was the artist’s major-label debut, landed at No. 3 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. Its success led to Burna Boy being crowned Best International Act at the 2019 BET Awards and Apple Music Up Next Artist of the Year.
His fourth album, African Giant, was even more successful, winning Album of the Year at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards and earning a Grammy Award nomination for Best World Album. It was noted in a 2019 Billboard interview, that this was Burna’s “most personal album yet.” The album made references to Nigeria’s history and the rise of discord since the country’s independence in the 1960s, from bouts of violence to political corruption.
Burna Boy remarked in the same Billboard interview that even if people, specifically Americans, didn’t understand what he was talking about, they could still “pick up on the vibe, the vibration” and feel how his music “resonates in the soul.” Around this time, Burna Boy did over 70 performances with more than 40 sold-out shows across North America and Europe. The Nigerian artist would also get the opportunity to work with other music icons like Drake and provide guest vocals for Lily Allen and Fall Out Boy.
Career Highlights and Impact
Burna Boy pioneered what he calls “Afro-fusion,” by cultivating a mix of Afrobeat, reggae and dancehall in his music. He has become an increasingly popular artist in not just Nigeria but around the world. Burna has made appearances on programs like The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, NPR’s Tiny Desk Series and The Tonight Show.
He has received many honors and awards including African Artist of the Year at the 2020 Ghana Music Awards and Best World Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Burna Boy has been the recipient of the BET Awards Best International Act three years in a row and became the first Afrobeats artist to sell out the Wembley Arena in London.
Burna was one of the first Afrobeats artists, along with Mr. Eazi, to perform at Coachella. He also made history as the first Nigerian artist to headline and sell out at Madison Square Garden in 2022, performing for more than 20,000 people. This put him in the same league as Michael Jackson, Adele, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey and other artists that have sold out at MSG.
At the beginning of the year, Burna Boy made Rolling Stone’s “200 Best Singers of All Time” list. In the 2023 article, Burna was credited as “the ambassador of Afrobeats as a global movement” and was praised for his versatility and skill in creating music that traversed different genres like Jamaican dance hall, hip-hop, pop and R&B.
Along with other contemporary African artists like Wizkid, Tems, CKay and Tiwa Savage, Burna Boy has helped create space for African artists and music to be known and celebrated on an international stage.
Burna Boy Tour Dates
- Nov. 3 Los Angeles, CA – BMO Stadium
- Nov. 5 Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
- Nov. 7 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
- Nov. 9 Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
- Nov. 12 Denver, CO – Ball Arena
- Nov. 17 Houston, TX – Toyota Center
- Nov. 18 Austin, TX – Moody Center
- Feb. 21 Chicago, IL – Wintrust Arena
- Feb. 24 Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
- Feb. 25 Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
- Feb. 28 Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
- Feb. 29 Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
- Mar. 2 Boston, MA – TD Garden
- Mar. 7 Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
- Mar. 9 Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
- Mar. 12 Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
Buy Burna Boy Tickets
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