3 Reasons Why Burna Boy's " African Giant " Will be Nigeria's First ever 'Best world music' Grammy winner

“Ye ehn ehn, ye ye o…ye ye ye ye, ye ye ye o! Dis one na gbedu wey dey ja pata!”…Or so we and Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu popularly known as Burna Boy thought, until the gbedu started to do way much more than just slice through panties (literal translation), and started bursting up charts from Naija to the ends of the globe.

It has jolly well been one heck of a mightily blessed few years for the Port-Harcourt, Nigeria-born singer and songwriter recently. Since signing up with Bad Habit/Atlantic Records in the United States of America, and Warner Music Group on an international level in 2017, virtually everything Burna has touched has literally turned to gold.

News broke very recently about the singer, who now also goes by the name/title of his latest album, “African Giant”, deservedly picking up a Grammy Awards nomination for same album in the “Best World Music Album” category. Needless to mention, the news has been met with wild jubilation, home and abroad, and countless congratulatory messages have been trooping in to him from all corners of the globe – and even from a certain A.K.A as well.

Burna Boy joins an illustrious list of iconic Nigerian musicians who have been previously nominated for The Grammys, which arguably is the world's biggest and most prestigious music awards, in this same category. They are King Sunny Ade (1983: “Synchro System”, and 1998: “Odu”), Femi Kuti (2002, 2009, 2011 & 2013), and coincidentally, Femi’s younger brother, Seun Kuti as well (2019: “Black Times”).

At the risk of sounding like a prophet (you may very well mark this article and kindly quote it when it comes to pass too), here are five reasons why OluwaBurna’s “African Giant” will break this “Chai, we were so close!” barrier, and deliver up Nigeria’s first-ever Best World Music Grammy Awards gong.

1.      Easily the most popular album in the category: The “Best World Music Album” category at The Grammy Awards 2020 features some other fabulous and renowned global stars as well, but none matches the global buzz and appeal that Burna Boy’s “African Giant” has pulled since its release in July 2019.

The saying: “You are what you call yourself” couldn’t be truer, and it’s beyond any iota of doubt that Burna’s time is now. Previous Grammy Award winner, Angelique Kidjo – a singer who unarguably puts the “I” in iconic when it comes to Africa’s finest vocalists – with her latest offering “Celia”, and others including Altin Gun (“Gece”), Nathalie Joachim with Spektral Quartet ("Fanm D’ayiti”), and Bokante & Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley (“What Heat”) would just have to make do with just a nomination this year, I guess.

2.      Titles beget titles: Coincidentally, ever since Burna Boy pronounced himself as the African Giant that he truly is, he has had a clean sweep of major international honors.

He picked up the “Best International Act” award at the 2019 BET Awards – who could ever forget his mother’s rousing speech on that occasion!; “Best African Act” at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Award (EMAs) held recently this November 2019, and also reportedly made an unforgettable debut at the 2019 Coachella Music and Arts Festival in California, U.S.A.

He was also announced as Apple Music’s “Up Next Artist" for 2019. Hence, it is only just fitting that the Best World Music crown be placed on the African Giant’s head to cap up his superb run, don’t you agree?

3.      Copped his own solo seat at the Queen’s table: Arguably one of the biggest albums across the globe this 2019, “Queen Bey”, as Beyonce Knowles-Carter is fondly called, put together a mouth-watering ensemble of Africa’s biggest and best music stars on her executively produced and curated album titled “The Lion King: The Gift”.

The lineup included mega stars like Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Shatta Wale, Mr. Eazi, Tekno Miles, Busiswa, Moonchild Sanelly, and others, but guess who got his own solo track on the album? OluwaBurna, of course, with another smashing hit titled “Ja Ara E”!

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After all these remarkable achievements, and the unusually great year he’s had – and I’ve seriously tried to avoid talking about his immense talents as a singer, song-writer and a performing artiste – there’s only one possible outcome this Best World Music Album category can have: The African Giant rocks and rules The Grammys stage!

I mean, it had just better be this way, because “Anybody, wey no want to soji! Anybody, wey no dey carry body! (We go) Knack am something ahn ahh, knack am something…GBESE!”

Oh, and don’t just read this and walk away nah! Biko like, comment, and share on your social media platforms as well joor. Thank you.