Grammy award winner, Damini Ogulu, better known as Burna Boy, has put to rest the conversation on ‘Afrobeats Big 3’, saying he has no interest in being classified among the big three.

In Nigeria’s mainstream music, fans commonly refer to Wizkid, Davido and Burna Boy as the country’s three biggest afrobeats stars (Big 3). But reacting to a footage posted on X by one of his fans, the artiste, while addressing fans at an event, said he’s not a part of a ‘Big 3’.

“Anytime they talk about a Big 3, tell them there’s a Big 2 and then there’s Burna Boy,” the Grammy winner said before dropping the mic and walking off the stage as fans cheered in delight.

The statement is another controversial statement from the music star, as he last August in an interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music, said that most Nigerian songs lacked substance.

“You hear most Nigerian songs, or I’ll say African (songs)…I don’t even know what to say; Afrobeats as people call it, is mostly about nothing. There is no substance to it. Nobody is talking about anything. It’s just an amazing time; but, at the end of the day, life is not an amazing time.

“No matter how nice of a time one is having now or had at some point, one is still going to face life. I feel music should carry the essence of the artiste. The artiste is a person, who has good, bad and great days.”

This did not go down well with many who felt the singer was fond of speaking ill about Nigerians and their music. While his statement of not being part of the ‘Big 3’ might come as boastful, Burna Boy has indeed distinguished himself as a global phenomenon and he has the accolades to back up this claim.

His 2019 album, African Giant, was nominated for the World Album category at the 2020 Grammys. He became the first artiste operating in the Nigerian music industry to win a Grammy when he won in 2021 for his 2020 album Twice As Tall.

Come Sunday, February 4, the self-acclaimed ‘African Giant’ will be hoping to add to his wall of awards another Grammy, as he has been nominated in four categories for the 66th Grammy awards, billed to hold at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, United States.

His four nominations – Sitting On Top of the World (Best Melodic Rap), I Told Them (Best Global Music Album), Alone (Best Global Music Performance) and City Boys (Best African Music Performance) are Nigerian records, which takes his total career nominations to 10, and also a Nigerian record.