Burna Boy Makes History as First African Musician to Sell Out a U.S. Stadium

By: Joshua Martin

Grammy award winning Nigerian singer Burna Boy, real name Damini Ogulu, has made history as the first African musician to sell out a stadium show in America. New York City’s Citi Field Stadium was filled to capacity Saturday (July 8th) with a whooping 41,000 seats spoken for. Known by the moniker ‘Love Damini’ , the self described ‘African Giant’  kept it in the family with his opening act, choosing his sister Nissi.

Burna Boy performed his hit song “Ye” which has nearly 240 million Youtube views to date and a dope collection of his other hit songs from his previous four albums.  

Burna Boy performing “Ye” live at his sold out Citi Field Stadium show last night in New York City. 🔥

LOOK AT THE LIGHTS! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/RVSnzlDx13

— benny. (@benny7gg) July 9, 2023

Which included “Outside”, “African Giant”, “Twice As Tall” and “Love Damini” including a brand new single “Big 7”. He also brought out the British rapper Dave to perform their song “Location.”

@hiphopdx The new Burna is sounding 🔥🔥🔥 @Burna Boy #burnaboy #citifield #afrobeats #big7 #newsingle #burnaboyofficial ♬ original sound - HipHopDX

Burna Boy has been on the grind for a while and he already has the support of industry vets like Swizz Beats. Recently the producer spoke highly of Burna Boy and his role in popularizing Afrobeats in the states.

“[I was the] first person to bring Burna Boy to the States. Actually, he had a Ruff Ryders bandana on and I introduced him on the stage. When I was playing Fela Kuti, people thought I was being too African, and that’s how ignorant the energy was at that time.

“It’s piercing through, by the way. People are more open-minded — they just need the right entry point.” - Swizz Beats  Amazon Music’s Rotation Roundtables with Speedy Morman, Nyla Symone, Rob Markman and Gabe P. 

In April 2022, Burna Boy also became the first Nigerian artist in history to headline Madison Square Garden. 

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