Yesterday, Burna Boy turned 35. It’s also the same year he opened a World Cup, sent a song to No. 1 on Spotify’s global chart, and kept adding to a Grammy tally that already makes him Nigeria’s most nominated artist. We know he’s talented, we know he’s famous, but he’s also one of a kind. One for every year, here are 35 times he proved that Odogwu really no be nickname.

The author does not condone number 4, please don’t bite me. 

1. Having his own song on The Lion King: The Gift 

On Beyoncé’s Africa-inspired album, Burna wasn’t just a feature like everyone else. He got a full solo record, “Ja Ara E,” because that’s simply the lane he occupies.

2. Putting his mother in the spotlight 

Most artists keep the mic to themselves. Burna handed his to Bose Ogulu, and her BET acceptance speech ended up almost as iconic as the award itself. It said everything about how he sees his own success.

3. Turning heartbreak into “Last Last”

 What began as Burna processing a breakup became one of the biggest Afrobeats songs in history. It introduced the phrase “last last” to millions who’d never heard it, earned a Grammy nomination, and gave the genre one of its defining global moments.

4. Promising Sophia a Lamborghini, failing, freestyling about it, then putting the freestyle on an album 

Only Burna could turn one of the year’s biggest internet scandals into a punchline he owns. The freestyle went from social media banter to an actual track on No Sign of Weakness. That’s the difference between being dragged and being in on the joke.

5. Being the first Afrobeats artists at Coachella 

Long before Coachella treated contemporary Nigerian stars as a regular booking, Burna headlined in 2019 (and to be fair, so did Mr Eazi). Now, we can’t have an edition without at least one Afrobeats artist there. 

6. Taking a stadium tour because he wanted to prove he could 

Arenas stopped being enough for him. He became the first African artist to headline a UK stadium at London Stadium, the first to headline and sell out a U.S. stadium at Citi Field, and the first to headline a solo concert at Stade de France during his historic stadium I Told Them… stadium tour.

7. Sparking Nigeria’s Grammy Renaissance 

African Giant’s nomination put contemporary Nigerian music under constant Grammy notice. Prior to this, it was only ‘traditional’ leaning artists as King Sunny Ade and Femi Kuti who received nominations. It’s only fitting that Twice As Tall won Burna the Grammy for Best Global Music Album and made him the first Nigerian solo artist to win one, full stop.

8. Taking “Dai Dai” to No. 1 on Spotify, worldwide

Burna and Shakira’s official FIFA World Cup 2026 anthem knocked Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” off the top of Spotify’s Global Daily Top Songs chart. It made Burna only the second African artist ever to reach No. 1 there, after Wizkid’s “One Dance.” The song also became the first official World Cup anthem to top Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. chart since that ranking launched in 2020.

9. Turning Grammy nominations into an annual tradition

One nomination became two. Two became a streak that hasn’t stopped since 2018. Burna is now Nigeria’s most Grammy-nominated artist, with 13 career nods and counting.

10. Selling out Madison Square Garden 

MSG has always been the room that separates stars from legends. Burna didn’t just play it, he sold it out in April 2022, becoming the first Nigerian ever to do so. What’s more, it was a fantastic performance from start to finish.

11. Turning a tiny Coachella font into African Giant

After calling out the size of his name on a Coachella lineup poster, Burna turned the slight into fuel. The result was African Giant, an album that became both a statement and a movement.

12. Building a ridiculously stacked list of collaborations

Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Stormzy, Dave, J Hus, Travis Scott, Sam Smith, Sia, Siddhu Moose Wala, Pop Smoke, Mick Jagger… Burna’s collaborators span genres, generations, and continents in a way few African artists can claim.

13. Bringing Afrofusion to the UEFA Champions League Final 

Only a handful of African artists have touched one of football’s biggest stages. Burna turned the Champions League Final Kick Off Show into an Afrofusion moment.

14. Opening the biggest sporting event on earth 

Burna and Shakira performed “Dai Dai” live at the 2026 World Cup opening ceremony in front of 80,000-plus fans at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca. It made him the first Nigerian artist to perform at a FIFA World Cup opening ceremony. No chart position needed for that one, just the moment itself.

15. Taking Afrobeats to NBA All-Star Weekend 

When the NBA wanted halftime entertainment with global reach, Burna joined Rema and Anitta. It put Afrobeats on one of basketball’s biggest annual stages.

16. Performing on music’s biggest stage, twice 

Getting nominated for a Grammy is one thing. Being invited back to perform at the ceremony twice (once virtually) is proof you’re part of the conversation, not just adjacent to it.

17. Making his Glastonbury Pyramid Stage debut 

One of music’s most storied festival stages had never seen an Afrobeats artist take it in 2024, until Burna, Ayra Starr, and Tems all landed there in the same weekend. Burna closed out his set in the late evening slot, going through five albums’ worth of hits in front of a crowd that didn’t want to let him leave. It was a full-circle moment too: Fela Kuti played that same stage forty years earlier.

18. Giving one of NPR Tiny Desk’s most iconic African performances 

In 2019, Burna became the first Nigerian artist to perform an NPR Tiny Desk Concert (British–Nigerians Obongjayar and Little Simz performed earlier that year). Years later, it’s still the platform’s most-watched performances by a Nigerian artist with 13M views.

19. Charity Work (usually quietly) 

Through The Reach Foundation and other community initiatives, Burna has backed outreach programmes delivering food and essential supplies to hundreds of families across Rivers State and beyond. The giant title isn’t just about charts.

20. Showing up during EndSARS 

Beyond releasing “20 10 20,” Burna helped set up a relief fund to support victims and protesters during the EndSARS movement. He put resources behind the moment, not just a song.

21. Becoming the first African artist with multiple billion-stream albums 

One billion Spotify streams wasn’t the ceiling. Burna became the first African artist to cross that mark on more than one album.

22. Winning Billboard’s first-ever Top Afrobeats Artist award 

When Billboard introduced the category, Burna was the inaugural winner. Somebody had to be first, and it was him.

23. Receiving one of Nigeria’s highest national honours 

His contribution to music and culture earned him the title of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic. Not every artist gets that kind of state recognition while still actively touring.

24. Becoming Nigeria’s most Grammy-nominated artist 

Thirteen nominations and counting. Five consecutive albums nominated. Burna keeps resetting the benchmark for what a Nigerian artist’s Grammy run can look like.

25. Building a live band that became part of the legend 

Burna didn’t settle for a backing band. The Outsiders became one of the finest live bands in African music, and it’s why a Burna concert never sounds like the streaming version.

26. First Nigerian featured on Architectural Digest’s show

Burna became the first Nigerian artist featured on Architectural Digest‘s Open Door series. Fans got an actual look inside his Lekki mansion and the creative world he’d built within.

27. Building an empire with family at its core 

His mother is his manager, his sister is his stylist and creative director, his uncle is his road manager, his cousin is his videographer….. Burna built one of African music’s biggest empires without pushing family to the sidelines. 

28. Using his platform to put the next generation on 

From jumping on BNXN’s “L’enu” remix to championing Omah Lay early and working with Seyi Vibez, Burna has consistently pulled younger Nigerian talent into the light. 

29. Accidentally winning an SEO war 

 When Kanye West released Ye, thousands of people searching for the album found Burna’s own “Ye” instead. One of the funniest accidental wins in internet music history.

30. His art collection 

Burna is a collector…but only of artwork by a single artist. The paintings he collects come exclusively from his baby sister, Nissi Ogulu, a visual and digital artist. 

31. Bringing rockstar fashion to Afrobeats 

While most of his peers leaned into luxury streetwear, Burna built a signature style around leather, unexpected styles, boots, and bold tailoring with extremely recognisable looks. His look became just as recognisable as his sound.

32. Becoming a fixture at the world’s biggest fashion houses 

From walking in Off-White shows to performing at Pharrell Williams’ debut Louis Vuitton show and sitting front row at Paris Fashion Week, Burna has crossed over into fashion in a way few musicians manage. He’s not a guest there anymore, he’s a regular.

33. Breaking Spotify records (including his own) 

From multiple billion-stream albums to repeatedly resetting highs for monthly listeners and annual streams, Burna keeps raising the ceiling for what an African artist can do on streaming. Every record he sets seems built to be broken by the next one.

34. Making “African Giant” more than an album title 

What started as a response to a tiny name on a festival poster became a mindset, then a movement, then one of the most recognisable identities in modern African music. Few artists turn a nickname into a legacy quite like this.

35. Taking control of his catalogue 

While most artists spend their careers trying to own their music, Burna has actively worked to bring much of his catalogue under his own imprint, Spaceship Music. It’s a long game move for an artist thinking like a businessman, though ownership of parts of his early catalogue is currently the subject of an ongoing legal dispute.