Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, known more commonly under his stage name of Burna Boy and Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr., commonly known as Stromzy, are both musical talents that hit the stratosphere of global success over the past decade. Burna Boy was born and bred in the diverse country of Nigeria and while Stormzy was born in Croyden, United Kingdom and he attributes much of his musical success and genes to his Ghanaian heritage.
This article aims to shed light on some of the things that make these two East African artists special and offer some insight into how they reached their international names.
The Tantalizing Burna Boy
Born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Burna Boy was a young kid filled with hope of making it big in the world. He was skilled at many things and before making it in music, is said to have wanted to be a famous sports star, either playing for the NBA or NLF but due to there being a scarcity of nfl expert picks coming to draft young players in Africa and although he loved the sport and goes to watch live NFL games in the U.S., he knew that this would be a tough career to pick. Therefore, his thoughts changed to making waves in other areas, which is when his sights fell upon music.
With a natural affinity for dance, rhythm and harmonizing, it was only clear to him that he was destined for greatness. Burna Boy first made his name in the Nigeria sphere, playing small gig after small gig until Nigeria was chanting his name and other countries could not help but to pay attention. With his first album ‘On a Spaceship’ which came out in 2016, you could already hear the talent behind Burna Boys’ rugged voice. Many people around the globe, however, know him for a more recent album, named ‘African Giant’ which was released in 2019 and includes songs such as ‘On the Low’ and ‘Gum Body’ which features the talented Jorja Smith from the U.K. and with a Jamaican heritage. It was through these clever collaborations that Burna Boy was slowly able to enter the U.K. and the U.S. market, propelling him into international stardom.
Now, do not be fooled, Burna Boy has the talent to back it up. In 2020, he came out with the album ‘Twice as Tall’ where he made waves with songs such as ‘Bank on It’ that feature Nigerian sounds and more contemporary hip hop and R&B sounds. In 2022, he published the album ‘Love, Damini’ where he has the famous song ‘For My Hand’ which features the hugely famous Ed Sheeran. Then in 2023 ‘I Told Them’ – in which he features a lot of U.K. artists that often speak at the beginning of his songs, such as ‘City Boys’. As you can see, he has done a serious amount of work to be able to release a new album almost every year and each album only gets better and better.
Grime Meets Smooth With Stromzy
Stormzy started as a ‘yute’ as the British slang would call a youthful person with ambition. He began his career in rapping and grime, making a name for himself in the underground scene of grime, that a decade ago wasn’t as known or popular as it is today. Luckily for him, due to his geography, he was able to visit many festivals and concerts, with big names so that he could learn from the best. He himself started to perform at small venues and concerts, where he was able to hone in one of his rapping talents. He is known for being able to start rapping about any topic at the drop of a hat and match it with some Ghanaian rhythm.
In 2014, he came out with Dreamers Disease, which featured excellent songs like ‘Stormtrooper’ where he rapped and added Ghanaian melody at the same time. In 2017 he came out with one of his most successful records to date, ‘Gang Signs & Prayer’, recreating the album cover on one of his Brit Award live shows. Two years later, in 2019, he released his album ‘Heavy is the Head’ – meaning ‘heavy is the head that wears the crown’ because he had finally made it to the point of success that he always aspired to but when getting there, started to see some hardships that came with being at the top. His 2022 album ‘This is What I Mean’ is an ode to his partner, Maya Jama, on which he spent almost every song explaining his strong feelings for her, while keeping the Ghanaian sounds and rhythm in check.
Again, an artist who has published excellent record after excellent record and in fast succession, making him one of the most famous Ghanaian artists in the world. His tactic was much the same as Burna Boy, featuring other famous artists to help put his name on the mark but also, putting in the hard work and having the skill to make it worldwide.
