Burna Boy has become the first Afrobeats artist to top the UK charts with his seventh studio album, ‘I Told Them…’.
Boasting features from J. Cole, Wu-Tang Clan‘s GZA and more, ‘I Told Them…’ last month and was highly-anticipated after the colossal success of the album’s lead singles; ‘Sittin’ On Top Of The World’ with 21 Savage, ‘Big 7’ and ‘Cheat On Me’ with Dave.
Today (September 1), it was confirmed that Burna Boy (real name Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu) had made history as ‘I Told Them…’ debuted at Number One on the UK album charts. In an Instagram post, he shared a post that read “Number 1″ with a simple caption that said ‘God Is Good.”
Martin Talbot, Chief Executive at Official Charts, commented on the feat, saying: “What a fantastic achievement it is by Burna Boy to become the first international artist to take Afrobeats to the top of the UK’s Official Albums Chart.”
He continued: “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. It has been fantastic to see Burna Boy blazing the trail as part of this.”
The Head of BBC Radio 1Xtra Faron McKenzie also congratulated the ‘African Giant’: “It has been a phenomenal year for Afrobeats and I am so proud that BBC 1Xtra are a part of this global movement as the home of the UK’s Official Afrobeats Chart Show with Eddie Kadi.
“Our commitment is to showcase Afrobeats’ diverse talent and give its artists a dedicated platform for national exposure. I’m excited for another year of new music, celebrating the sound and culture’s global influence, with 1Xtra as a driving force in the UK.”
Ogulu’s last three studio albums – 2019’s ‘African Giant’, 2020’s ‘Twice As Tall’ (which was executively produced by Diddy) and 2022’s ‘Love Damini’ – all entered the Top 20 in their first week. The latter charted the highest, peaking at number two on the UK albums chart.
Burna Boy is really so playful and it’s so much fun to be around him, the media won’t show you this though. 😀 pic.twitter.com/qhZX0nWZm2
— benny. (@benny7gg) September 2, 2023
‘I Told Them…’ kept Claire Richards from Steps‘ second solo album ‘Euphoria’ out of the top spot, entering at number two. Despite that, it was a new career best for the former pop group member.
Speaking exclusively to Official Charts, Richards said: “Thank you, I’m so completely and utterly overwhelmed with all your kind comments about the album. For all of you who’ve come to signings, ordered, downloaded and streamed the album; I honestly can’t tell you how grateful I am!
“I can’t believe how much you’ve taken this album to your hearts. From the bottom of my heart, I’ll never forget how you’ve made me feel this week and I’ll take it with me forever. It’s an incredible result, and it’s just as much yours as it is mine – it’s a team effort!”
‘I Told Them…’ earned four stars from NME. Reviewing the record, Ben Jolley wrote: “Overall, ‘I Told Them’ is not only more memorable and focused than its expansive predecessor, but it’s his strongest album yet. Whichever mood he’s in, Burna Boy creates pure magic here. A genius, indeed.”
In other news, Burna Boy recently said that other Afrobeats music has “no substance”.
“Half of them, [actually,] 90 per cent of them, have almost no real-life experiences that they can understand,” he claimed in the discussion. “That’s why you hear most Nigerian music, African Music, or Afrobeats, as people call it, is mostly about nothing, literally nothing,’ he told Zane Lowe.
“There is no substance to it, like nobody is talking about anything. It’s just a great time, an amazing time,” Burna Boy added. “But at the end of the day, life isn’t an amazing time.”
On September 1, Burna Boy held an intimate gig at London’s Roundhouse, playing the album in full for his adoring fans. Before that, he made history again at his sold-out London Stadium show, which was the first-ever headlining gig done by an Afrobeats artist in a UK stadium and the first-ever to sell out. He brought Dave, Stormzy and J Hus out on stage to perform their respective collaborations together.
NME gave the concert four stars, saying: “Burna Boy is a magnetic live performer who can easily sell out London shows of any and all sizes. The appeal of his music is something you will only find in Afrobeats: the music calls something in your spirit that you just can’t fight – instead, you just move. It’s no wonder that, after becoming the first ever African artist to headline and sell out a stadium show in the UK, Burna Boy is, in his own words, “sittin’ on top of the world.”
