Brit Beat: Burna Boy Sets the U.K. Ablaze, Making Afrobeats Chart History
variety.comMark Sutherland Burna Boy is on fire. In September, the Nigerian singer created a little slice of U.K. chart history as his seventh album, “I Told Them…,” went straight to No.
1 on the Official Albums Chart, making him the first international Afrobeats artist to top the ranking. Atlantic Records U.K.
executive VP and president of Black Music, Austin Daboh, describes the success as “the crescendo on the amazing five-year relationship we’ve had with him.” It follows Burna Boy’s sold-out, 60,000-capacity show at the London Stadium in June, which catapulted the star into the elite stadium-level bracket in Britain. “I can’t say too much but it definitely won’t be the last time you see him in a large venue in the U.K.,” says Daboh. “This is somebody who is shifting the world’s axis when it comes to music.” Daboh and Atlantic U.K.
co-president Ed Howard credit the entire label team – including promo king/managing director Damian Christian; the marketing team of Leila Singh, Fay Hoyte and Thomas Barthen; and digital gurus Will Beardmore and Shaiyann Fairweather – with delivering the No.
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