- Renowned Nigerian singer Burna Boy was presented with the BRIT Billion plaque after his ‘African Giant’ anniversary concert
- It records that he has over 2 billion UK streams
- Burna Boy also surpassed Wizkid’s previous feat to become the first African artiste to hit 2 billion streams
Nigerian Afrobeats singer Damini Ogulu, Burna Boy, has become the first African artiste to hit 2 billion streams across the United Kingdom.
The plaque recognised Burna Boy as the best-selling and most streamed African artist of all time in the United Kingdom.
In a short video posted by Africa Facts Zone on X (formerly Twitter) on July 16, the award-winning artiste was presented with the plaque after the ‘African Giant’ anniversary concert in London.
“Thank you very much. Yea. That's better. You have to fight for your right.” Burnaboy said as he received the plaque.
Meanwhile, in another video, his mother, Bose Ogulu’s voice can be heard saying, “You already have it, there was no need to fight.”. The Last Last crooner insisted that he still had to fight.
This achievement comes a month after he was also presented with a plaque for reaching 1 billion streams at his record-breaking sold-out concert in London Stadium.
Past most-streamed African artiste in UK
TheRadar looked at the most streamed African artistes who had also received the Brits Billion plaque as the Most Streamed African acts in the past.
TheRadar, through research, discovered that Wizkid was the first-ever recipient of the African category. Burna Boy is the second, both setting their records.
In 2023, Ayodeji Balogun became the first African artist to earn the Brits Billion award with a total of one billion streams. He sold millions of units across the United Kingdom, especially his collaboration with Drake, One Dance, which was certified six times platinum for selling over 3.6 units.
Wizkid achieved this feat collectively with his songs Essence, Brown Skin Girl, and the ‘Made in Lagos’ album, cementing his place as the most sought-after artiste in 2023.
As the pacesetter, Wizkid, as a recipient of the BRIT Billion awards, signified his enduring commercial appeal to the Afrobeats genre. However, in 2024, Burna Boy surpassed Wizkid to become the African artiste first to hit 2 billion streams across the United Kingdom.
Album Review: “HEIS” is Rema’s monotonous outburst for recognition
Earlier, TheRadar reviewed Rema’s album, which was released on July 11. It solidified an evolution in the 24-year-old's artistic journey, but it signalled a monotonous outburst to seek recognition.
Considering the title of the album and its meaning, Rema, born Divine Ikubor, made a rather bold declaration of himself as “number one” in the music game - which is quite controversial.
