Grammy-winning Nigerian singer, Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu aka Burna Boy, has celebrated his latest achievement on microblogging platform, X, after he made history by becoming the first African artist to top the UK charts with his new album, ‘I Told Them’.
The UK official chart confirmed the news on Friday, 1 September, 2023.
Reacting to the historic achievement on Twitter, an excited Burna Boy wrote, “I told them I’m the highest!! Number 1.”
The singer’s seventh studio album, published on 24 August, 2023, topped other UK album rankings.
In recognition of his record, the British record chart firm presented the singer with a prestigious plaque.
He had come close to earning the accolade with last year’s “Love, Damini”, which climbed to second in the UK album rankings.
Homegrown British talents making Afrobeats music, such as J Hus, have enjoyed chart-topping success but Burna Boy is the first foreign artist to do so.
The feat marks the continued rise of the Afrobeats genre in Britain and around the world, as artists like Wizkid and Davido also enjoy mainstream success and increasingly shape segments of popular culture.
Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts Company, paid tribute to Burna Boy for “blazing the trail” and landing a “fantastic achievement”.
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“British music fans have always been renowned for their love of new music and embracing cultures from around the world, and the explosion of interest in Afrobeats’ musical culture over the past decade has been a concrete example of this,” he said.
Western audiences have enjoyed the Afrobeats sound since 2016 thanks to the hit “One Dance”, featuring Canadian superstar Drake and Wizkid.
The tune soared in popularity to secure a place as the most-played song of all time on Spotify, surpassing one billion streams.
Alongside Nigerian stars like Burna Boy and Wizkid, with millions of social media followers, Ghanaian musicians are also emerging to take their turn in the global spotlight.
Gyakie and Joey B boast hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers while KiDi, Sarkodie and Shatta Wale — who enjoyed success with a 2020 track featuring Beyonce and Major Lazer — are also gaining in prominence.