Burna Boy - The African Mirror

Nov

2023

Afrobeats dominate the 2024 GRAMMY nominations

NIGERIAN artists are taking the spotlight in the upcoming 2024 GRAMMYs, dominating the inaugural 'Best African Music Performance' category. The new category, announced in August, is one of three new category additions aimed at making the GRAMMY Awards process "more fair, transparent and accurate," according to Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. An uproar over unfair allocations of spots in past awards for African artists compelled the inclusion of this category. The new category has seen household names in the Afrobeats world dominate nominations for what is set to be a historical award. Asake, known for his charismatic stage presence,…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

CKay makes musical history amid Afrobeat’s unstoppable global rise

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY THE popular musician came in at number 98 on Billboard’s best-selling artist in USA 2022 with his addictive Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah) hit single clocking in at number 17 on Billboard Global 200 songs and the Hot 100 chart at number 55. African music has had another stellar year in 2022, likely to continue through 2023, with Nigerian artist Burna Boy set for a history-making concert at London Stadium on June 3 - the first-ever African artist to headline a UK stadium, according to Rolling Stone. On April 2 this year, CKay's Love Nwantiti,…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

Afrobeat and a growing sense of unity

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD NEWSROOM WITH the rise of Afrobeat and Amapiano, African pop stars are penetrating the global music scene and changing how the continent’s music is perceived and consumed. Significantly, they are also bringing a sense of unity to the continent. Africa’s rich terrain of musical styles is laden with fascinating genres such as Taarab, Genge, Ndombolo, Rhumba, Bongo, Benga, Kwaito, Amapiano, and Afrobeat. Over the past decade or so, the continent’s music landscape has changed dramatically, with new fusions blended into existing genres to create a magical and unique cocktail. As the music changes so do dance routines,…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Why Grammy win marks ‘big moment’ for African music

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM and ANGELA UKOMADU MODERN African music is altering perceptions of the continent as part of a global cultural shift that marks a "big moment", Nigerian music artist Burna Boy told Reuters after hailing his first Grammy award. Burna Boy was awarded a Grammy for the Best Global Music Album this month for 'Twice As Tall' which was released last year. He is part of a generation of Nigerian music artists, which include Wizkid and Davido, that has enjoyed global success in recent years as proponents of the Afrobeats sound. The African genre is now almost as likely to…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Burna Boy and Wizkid scoop Grammy Awards

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

NIGERIAN superstar Burna has won his first career Grammay Award at a ceremony marked by historic feet by women and the Blue Ivy, the youngest winner at 9. Burna Boy won the Grammy Award for the Best Global Music Album for his album Twice as Tall. In an acceptance speech given in English and Yoruba, Burna Boy described the achievement as a big win for his generation of Africans all over the world. “Africa is in the house. This is a big win for my generation of Africans all over the world. And this should be a lesson to every…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Burna Boy and Wizkid receive nominations for 2021 Grammy Awards

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO NIGERIA is leading the ranks for Africa with two major nominations in the Grammy Awards, with Burna Boy receiving a nomination for a second year in a row for his album ‘Twice As Tall’. Announced by The Recording Academy, Burna Boy is up against artists Antibalas, Bebel Gilberto, Anoushka Shankar and Tuareg desert rock group Tinariwen in the Best Global Music Album category. The Grammy nominee lost out to Benin singer Angelique Kidjo in the 2019 Grammy Awards, where he was nominated in the same category for his album. The other Nigerian nominee is Wizkid, who received his…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Burna Boy, Davido and Sho Madjozi to hit Afro Nation 2021

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

African Mirror Reporter SOME of Africa’s current biggest musicians have been listed to perform at the world’s biggest afro-beats festival, Afro Nation in Portugal, in 2021. South Africa’s Sho Madjozi and Busiswa, Nigeria’s Davido, Wizkid and Yemi Alade are some of the big African names listed on the festival poster which was posted on social media and their website. The stars are also set to perform alongside American musicians Rick Ross and Chris Brown. https://twitter.com/afronation/status/1301067444434481152?s=21 The Afro-centric festival will be headlined by hip-hop rapper French Montana, Davido and Burna Boy. More artists are to be added to the star-studded lineup. …

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Burna Boy’s “Twice as Tall” reaches streaming high

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

African Mirror Reporter NIGERIA’S Burna Boy’s star has continued to soar at some speed with the release of his fifth album ‘Twice As Tall’. Released on Friday 15 August, ‘Twice As Tall’ was commended by scores of fans, who also praised the artist for continuing to fly the Nigerian flag high and for keeping up with the positive momentum from the artist’s previous offering, the 2018 Grammy-nominated album ‘African Giant’. Since its release, the album has amassed popularity on streaming sites. It accumulated 5 million streams in one hour by August 17, and to date has over 6 million streams…