Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu MFR (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing “Like to Party”, the lead single from his debut studio album L.I.F.E (2013). In 2017, Burna Boy signed with Bad Habit/Atlantic Records in the United States and Warner Music Group internationally. His third studio album Outside (2018) marked his major-label debut.

In 2019, he won Best International Act at the 2019 BET Awards, and was announced as Apple Music Up Next artist that year. His fourth studio album, titled African Giant, was released in July 2019. It won Album of the Year at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards and was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. He was awarded African Artist of the Year at the 2020 Ghana Music Awards. Burna Boy released his fifth studio album, Twice as Tall, in August 2020. It won Best World Music Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. He won Best International Act at the 2021 BET Awards.

Burna Boy’s sixth studio album, Love, Damini, was released in July 2022 and became the highest debut of an African album on the Billboard 200 chart. It also became the highest charted African album in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and France. In October, Burna Boy was awarded the Member of the Order of the Federal Republic plaque for his achievements in music. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked him number 197 on its list of the 200 greatest singers of all time. Burna Boy won Bet International Act at the 2023 BET Awards, making for his fourth win in the category.

Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu was born on 2 July 1991, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. His mother Bose Ogulu worked as a language translator and his father, Samuel, managed a welding company. His maternal grandfather Benson Idonije once managed Fela Kuti. His mother later became his manager. Ogulu grew up in Southern Nigeria and began making his own beats using FL Studio. He attended Corona Secondary School in Agbara, Ogun State, and relocated to London, England to further his studies. He studied media technology at the University of Sussex from 2008 to 2009, and also studied media communications and culture at Oxford Brookes University from 2009 to 2010. Burna Boy returned to Port Harcourt and took up a year-long internship at Rhythm 93.7 FM. He launched his music career after returning to Lagos.

Burna Boy’s debut studio album, L.I.F.E, was released on 12 August 2013, serving as the follow-up to his second mixtape Burn Identity (2011). The album sold 40,000 copies on the first day of its release. Aristokrat Records later sold its marketing rights to Uba Pacific for ₦10 million. The album’s release was preceded by five singles: “Like to Party”, “Tonight”, “Always Love You”, “Run My Race”, and “Yawa Dey”. L.I.F.E was produced entirely by Leriq and features guest appearances from 2face Idibia, M.I Abaga, Timaya, Olamide, Reminisce, and Wizkid, among others. Nigeria Entertainment Today ranked the album 10th on its list of the 12th Best Albums of 2013. The album’s music was inspired by Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, and Bob Marley. It received generally positive reviews from music critics, who applauded its production. It was nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. In August 2013, L.I.F.E peaked at number seven on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.

In 2014, Burna Boy split from Aristokrat Records. In February 2015, he founded the record label Spaceship Entertainment eight months after leaving Aristocrat Records. Burna Boy’s second studio album, titled On a Spaceship, was released on 25 November 2015. His 7-track debut extended play, Redemption, was released in September 2016. Its lead single “Pree Me” debuted on Noisey.

On 19 January 2018, Burna Boy was featured on American rock band Fall Out Boy’s song “Sunshine Riptide”, a track from their seventh studio album Mania. He released his third studio album, Outside, exactly a week later, on 26 January 2018. Described by the singer as a mixtape, Outside consists mostly of afrobeats, dancehall, reggae, and road rap. It features guest appearances from English musicians J Hus, Lily Allen, and Mabel. Outside was supported by six singles: “Rock Your Body”, “Streets of Africa”, “Koni Baje”, “Sekkle Down”, “Heaven’s Gate” and “Ye”. Its production was handled by Leriq, Baba Stiltz, Jae 5, Juls, Chopstix, Steel Banglez, Fred Gibson, Phantom, and FTSE. The album received positive critical acclaim and was ranked by Pulse Nigeria and Nigerian Entertainment Today as the best Nigerian album of 2018. It won Album of the Year at the 2018 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. In February 2018, Outside debuted at number three on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. A single from the album, “Ye”, ended up atop most Nigerian publications year-end list as the biggest song of 2018.