Adedokun Waliyu 
Grammy Award winner, Burna Boy, does not appear to be excited about being rated as Nigeria’s biggest Afro pop artiste. He simply wants to keep making good music and taking care of his family. For him, hitting the global stage with his talent was God’s way of giving another chance at life as he revealed he was once an inmate in a London prison.
It was a tough ride for the singer who against all odds rose to prominence and earned his place when it seemed his world had crumbled around him.
Despite the success he has recorded in the last few years on the global music scene, one of which earned him the Grammy Award in 2021, the ‘Common Person’ singer is not bothered about the laurels he has earned, but the music he gives to his fans.
Days back, he was dragged into a conversation by some fans on social media platforms who attempted spite him by saying Wizkid remains the biggest artiste in Africa following Kanye West’s endorsement of his famous song, Essence, as the biggest song in the world at the moment.
Burna Boy who has been on tour in different cities across Europe would not welcome any comparison between him and anyone as he lashed out at fans who made such attempt, saying he didn’t care about who the biggest artiste in Nigeria is.
He also revealed that many people didn’t know that he came into the music industry from prison, saying he never knew he would live this long.
“When people talk about me now, it always sounds funny to me because they don’t know my story and the journey I had before this moment.
“I came into the Music industry straight from Chelmsford HMP. I had no idea I would even live this long,” his tweet read. He also recalled his prison experience while living in the United Kingdom.
Unknown to many, the artiste had done time in HM Prison Chelmsford, before starting as a musician. Interestingly, Burna Boy hinted at his prison experience in the song, ‘Glory’ off his 2022 album, ‘Love, Damini’.
In the song, which features the South African male choral group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Burna Boy sings about getting into fights and getting injured in prison. The lyrics went: “I remember when they shipped me from the cans To Chelmsford HMP and my celly had it bad.So I had to have his back, niggas started fightin’. Then they cut me on my hand.”
At one of his recent shows, the singer performed with a broken leg as he gave his best to thrill fans despite the pain he felt all through his performance. Burna,however, said he will continue to perform with “injured or even no legs or no arms.”
