Damini “Burna Boy” Ogulu’s mother, Bose Ogulu, claims that even as a teenager, she could see that her son would be good at something.
The talent manager claimed that she began spotting indicators of her son’s future self when he was about 13 or 14 years old.
In a recent interview with the BBC, she made this claim and said that despite his accomplishments, Burna is still a work in progress.
Mrs. Ogulu admitted that she had to leave the language school she was overseeing in order to manage the Grammy winner, a choice she claims to have felt confident about.
She said; “I admire the diligence, the hard work but he’s still a work in progress. There are many more milestones to attain. We need to not just step down and look at what we’ve done, but keep doing more.
“I ran a language school for 18 years. I quickly understood the power of languages and the power of culture. I have known since he was probably 13 or 14 that he was going to be great at something. I had already seen him in the studio, I had already watched him form a high school band.
“From when he was in JSS3, which I think would be Year 9, we started trading studio time for grades. I would say: ‘OK, if you make a B or an A in this, I’ll pay for studio time during your mid-term’.”
However, she said she wasn’t prepared for Burna Boy to drop out of university in order to pursue his burgeoning music career.
She said; “That was my problem, like ‘OK you can do this, but you’re almost there. How about you just finish this degree programme’.
“That’s where the African in me came out. Together his father, my father and I sat down and told him the consequences of doing it his way and he was like: ‘That’s fine’.”
Burna Boy won a Grammy award in 2021 after being nominated twice. He clinched the award for Best Global Music Album for his 2020 album ‘Twice as Tall.’
