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The Nigerian megastar made history as the first African musician to headline a sold-out stadium show in the US, as well as the UK. Meanwhile, his latest album, I Told Them…, shot into the top 10 in charts across the world.<\/p>\n
However, according to his mother, Burna Boy has not yet fulfilled his potential.<\/p>\n
“I admire the diligence, the hard work but he’s still a work in progress,” Bose Ogulu, who also manages the Afrobeats singer, told the BBC’s Nyasha Michelle.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Affectionately dubbed Mama Burna by fans, Ms Ogulu rivals Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner for the title of ultimate “momager”.<\/p>\n
Mama Burna learnt the trade from her own father, who managed late Nigerian icon Fela Kuti. Away from music, she’s also an accomplished businesswoman and linguist.<\/p>\n
“I ran a language school for 18 years. I quickly understood the power of languages and the power of culture,” Ms Ogulu, who on Sunday joined the likes of Stormzy, Mohamed Salah and Mo Farah as a Best of Africa award-winner.<\/p>\n
In order to manage Burna, Ms Ogulu had to step away from the language school – a decision she says she was confident in making.<\/p>\n
“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,” she said.<\/p>\n
“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’.”<\/p>\n
However, she “wasn’t prepared” for Burna Boy to drop out of university in order to pursue his burgeoning music career.<\/p>\n
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’.<\/p>\n
“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’.”<\/p>\n
Burna Boy has since won a Grammy and toured the world with his music, so the gamble has clearly paid off.<\/p>\n
So where do the mother-son duo go from here?<\/p>\n
“If we’re doing four stadiums, let’s do 10,” Ms Ogulu said.<\/p>\n
“There’s always a higher level to get to – and that should be our focus.”<\/p>\n
Source: Graphiconline<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
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