Bose Ogulu, Burna Boy’s mother, who is his manager and mum, says she started managing him as a form of sacrifice and not ambition. The businesswoman spoke of her ambitions in a chat with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, TV host.
“Burna Boy started in 2010 from Port Harcourt. Even before he took the name, he asked me to manage him. So, I’ve always managed him. It just wasn’t a full-time thing because I was raising kids and had bills to pay,” Ogulu said.
“He couldn’t pay me so I had to do my work. I signed the first deal on his behalf; handled most of his bookings. I’ve always been there but I hadn’t been involved in the day-to-day [tasks]. He was with the label; they had a road manager.
“And he seemed on top of things. So I was just managing him and protecting his interest. I think I went full-time in 2017 because it just became evident that the day-to-day and other things I wasn’t handling were not going as well.
“And I had more time, fewer kids going to school that I had to pay bills for. And his business could evidently grow to pay me. It was a question of, ‘this guy is honestly the most talented person I’ve met in the last decade or more.’”
It is widely known that Ogulu managed Burna’s music career until 2014 and then became his manager again from 2017 onwards, gaining the nickname Mama Burna. She has collected awards for Burna Boy at various events.
Ogulu is a daughter of the music critic Benson Idonije, who was the manager of Fela Kuti, the late Afrobeat legend.