Olisa Adibua: Burna Boy’s success not a fluke… he’s been in the system for long

Olisa Adibua, Nigerian media personality, says the rise of Damini Ogulu, Afro-fusion singer better known as Burna Boy, to fame was not by accident.

Adibua, who is the founder of Beat FM, a Lagos-based radio station, spoke on Friday while making his presentation at the 2019 edition of the Africa Music Business Summit (AMBS) held in Lagos.

According to him, the ‘African Giant’ crooner has shown that with commitment and dedication, nothing is impossible.

Burna Boy is one of the nominees for the Artiste of the Year (continental category) at the award event on Saturday, at Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos, at 4:00pm.

The Afro-fusion star has been a sensation across the music landscape. He was recently nominated for the 2020 Grammy Awards shortly after he teamed up with Ed Sheeran and Stormzy, two prominent UK artistes, for a ‘Own It’.

The media mogul also took a trip down memory lane; chronicling how Burna Boy worked his way to stardom through hardwork.

“And these guys (referring to Burna Boys colleagues) were dedicated. They lived, slept ate and drank with with Burna Boy. That was it. They were hungry, Burna Boy was hungry. They pushed to music,” he said.

“Even though when the union cracked, till this day, they still work with Burna Boy (Sic).  So, it’s not a fluke, there is structure, there is planning, he is been in the system for long and has been on the road.

“If you noticed in the last four years, Burna Boy was playing in venues like 100 people, 200 people all over the world. It’s not by mistake, there was a reason for that, he was going around the world, creating brand awareness.

“If you check Burna Boy’s streaming, his music is being streamed worldwide now because he’s done the grind, he’s done the work and he’s reaping the reward.”

The AMBS is an annual event for networking among music executives, government officials, and other stakeholders in the music, media and the financial sectors of Africa.

The event tagged ‘Music Business In Africa: Connecting Borderless Talents,’ is part of activities preceding the grand finale of the 2019 All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) themed: ‘Feel Africa’.