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the rise of burna boy

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Hey! In a couple of weeks I’ll head to SXSW in Austin. I haven’t been since pre-pandemic. I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and meeting new folks.

Today’s memo is about Burna Boy. We did a deep dive, case study-style breakdown on this week’s Trapital podcast with Denisha Kuhlor. Her company, Stan, has done several ticket giveaways for Burna’s upcoming London concert, so she’s tapped into the fanbase. This was a really fun one.

Here are a few highlights from the episode below.

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the rise of Burna Boy

Burna Boy is having his moment:

• Spotify’s most-streamed African artist globally in 2022
• Sold out Madison Square Garden in 2022
• Performed at halftime at the NBA All-Star Game
• Will become the first African artist to headline a show at London Stadium

His rise lines up with Afrobeats’ popularity, but he also separates himself from the pack.

Burna has positioned himself as a headliner in the same way that an actor who wants to be the star. Sure, they do occasional guest spots or supporting roles, but if they do too many of those and the industry views them as the side dish, not the entree. The character actor, not the lead. Nate Dogg, but not Snoop Dogg.

This is the tougher route, especially if your peers are blowing up from guest features on Drake tracks. But collaborating with superstars isn’t necessarily the golden ticket that many believe it to be. Burna’s path has been the long game, but that long game is why he’s headlining stadiums nearly a decade into his career.

In our Trapital podcast episode, Stan’s Denisha Kuhlor points out that if Burna is doing a feature, he’s more likely to bring up another African artist who can benefit from his exposure. She cites the Lenu Remix with Bnxn’s “Lenu” remix and Sake’s “Sunga” remix.

You can listen to our episode here or read more below for a few more Burna Boy takeaways.

no overnight success

The streaming era has been great for artists outside of the US and the UK. Artists from Africa, Asia, and Latin America can grow more easily without the traditional gatekeepers holding them back.

In Africa specifically, movies like Black Panther have increased interest in the continent too. And every time I talk to other investors, people are always staying close to the deal flow coming from Lagos, Accra, and other major cities.

Burna’s boat has risen with this tide, but he’s also put in the work. He has released six albums since 2013 and has built his touring strategy over time.

Last summer when I was out on paternity leave, Denisha wrote a guest essay in Trapital where she highlighted this quote from Burna’s Mom, Bose Ogulu, in a Billboard interview:

back to Coachella fixed things

Sometimes Burna’s headliner mentality has caused some issues. In 2019, he performed at Coachella but was upset that the font on the festival lineup wasn’t bigger. He took to Instagram to say he “will not be reduced to whatever that tiny writing means.”

Listen, I get it. He wouldn’t be where he is without this energy. But his name was right next to Lizzo! She blew up in 2019 and “Truth Hurts” was the song of the summer. It’s not as big of a slight as he thought it was.

In 2023, Burna Boy makes his return to the desert in Coachella. This time, his print on the flyer is a lot bigger.

He’s still below Bad Bunny, but he’s the second name mentioned in that second row. A source told me that Burna’s payday for Coachella was likely $1.5 million ($750,000 per weekend).

And since this year’s lineup featured two headliners who release a majority of their music in non-English speaking (Bad Bunny and Blackpink). It might not be long until The African Giant is a headliner himself. Then, there would be no complaints about his font size on the lineup poster.

In the rest of the episode, we talked more about:

• How Kanye West incidentally helped Burna Boy’s breakout
• How Wizkid, Davido, and Burna Boy measure up
• how fanbases are built in Africa vs the US

Listen to the episode here:

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money moves

• U.S. House panel votes to advance bill that could ban TikTok​
• How to fix Hollywood’s business model (very relevant to music too)
• Why Tidal sunset its Direct Artists Payouts program​

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coming soon from Trapital

Podcast: The huge potential of gaming and music. Next week’s episode is a full breakdown on the future of music, gaming, and more with Vickie Nauman. She’s an expert in this space, and we covered it all. Drops next week!