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Nigerian Rapper Burna Boy on His Patchwork Approach to Style

“I always had phases,” Burna Boy, born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, explains over the phone in between studio sessions in Los Angeles for the follow-up to his just-released album, Outside. “When I was younger I only wanted to listen to rap. At another time, it was strictly reggae. Another time, it was dancehall, and another time it was strictly R&B.”

Given his evolving musical obsessions, it’s perhaps no surprise that his own sound is a meld of Afrobeat, dancehall, R&B, reggae, hip-hop, and more, which he’s dubbed “Afrofusion.” Burna had a brief yet memorable moment on Drake’s More Life (the outro of Drake’s “Get It Together” samples Burna’s vocals from Outside’s first song, “More Life”), but Outside is perhaps the vocalist’s most cohesive sonic statement yet. Songs like “Ph City Vibration” pay tribute to his hometown, while tracks like “Sekkle Down” showcase an adept ability to incorporate dancehall rhythms into his patchwork of sonic references.

This sensibility extends to his approach to style, too. While the other kids picked up trends from watching television or reading magazines, Burna Boy never bought into any particular fads. “I was always the one who didn’t really want to follow that. I wanted to start it. I just always went off. I just always came up with my own little twist,” he says, citing his idiosyncratic styling of the popular bucket hat (that everyone later copied) as an early example of this rebellious approach to self-presentation. Judging off the outfits that he posts to Instagram, he continues to do his own thing to this day, whether he’s wearing clashing tie-dye on tie-dye or mixing bold prints with a sporty orange long-sleeved T-shirt.

And while he’s always putting his own spin on the trends, Burna is also inspired by his family, as well as some more classic cultural references. He notes that in Port Harcourt, people paid special attention to their wardrobe. “It was important,” Burna says. “That kind of stayed with me.” Nigerian music icon Fela Kuti’s distinct look—“As soon as you see something that Fela would wear or he puts something on, you just know that’s his. That’s what I learned from Fela Kuti”—and the ’90s in general have also had a lasting impact on his wardrobe, as he incorporates shades of everything from Tupac to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air into his wardrobe. Given all of these distinct references, Burna’s style is anything but staid. “I always mix it up,” he says. “To me, it’s always about mixing it up, just making it me. It doesn’t even matter what it is, I’m going to find a way to make it me.”

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Kelechi Ofor

Am cool and calm to be with, I believe in Myself. Artist Manager, Digital Distributor and Services

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