Talent and achievement don’t fall far from Burna Boy’s family tree. His father, Samuel, worked as a manager of a welding business. At the same time, his mother, Bose, speaks French, Italian, German, English, and Yoruba, and was a translator for the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce. She’s also now her son’s manager because he’s previously noted that “she’s the only one [he trusts] to really have [his] best interest.”

Burna Boy has given his fans a lot of amazing music, but he’s also lent his name and resources to many philanthropic efforts. In 2020, he launched PROJECTPROTECT, “an initiative set up to provide financial, medical and legal resources during and after #ENDSARS protests.” He’s also performed at the Global Citizen festival, which supports the Demand Equity campaign.

In April 2022, Burna Boy made history as the first Nigerian artist to headline MSG. The One Night In Space event was also live-streamed. He also has performed at other impressive venues, including LA’s Hollywood Bowl and London’s O2.

Burna Boy’s ties to his native Nigeria run deep. His grandfather Benson Idonije once managed Fela Kuti, so it’s no wonder why he’s inspired by the Pan-Africanist musician. Previously, Burna has not only mentioned how influential Fela is but has proved it with his own music, sampling him on songs like “Run My Race,” “Boom, Boom, Boom,” and “Ring Ring,” among many others.

Via his album Love, Damini, Burna Boy’s hit single “Last Last” is the most streamed African song on Spotify, with north of 100 million streams, making him the first artist from the continent to achieve such a feat.

Burna Boy has always been interested in entertainment, even if he once thought he wouldn’t be at the forefront of the music business. Attending the University of Sussex from 2008 to 2009, he studied media technology before moving to Oxford Brookes University to study media communications and culture for another two years. He also took up a yearlong internship in radio.

In 2019, Burna Boy won his first BET Award for Best International Act, but that’s far from not only the only time he’s achieved that honor but so many more. During his decade-long career, he won a Nigeria Entertainment Award, numerous Headies, a Soul Train Award and even a Grammy in 2021 for Best Global Music Album for Twice as Tall.

A longtime comic book collector, Burna Boy used his hobby to introduce his moniker. Last year, he told Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that his music name comes from drawing his own comic books, and he wanted something that sounded like a superhero name.

Toward the beginning of Burna Boy’s career, the Afrobeats genre was mostly relegated to Africa. Now though, it’s become a much bigger presence and received mainstream attention thanks to artists like Burna and others like Wizkid, Davido, Fireboy DML, Tiwa Savage and Yemi Alade.

Burna Boy’s younger sister and last born in his family, Nissi Ogulu, is an Afropop singer based in Nigeria and the UK. And while she’s not as known as her brother, she’s been an ascending artist for years, recently releasing the singles “Higher” and “Overthinking.”