Bose Ogulu, mother of Burna Boy, has revealed that she foresaw greatness in the Grammy-winning singer during his early teenage years.
She told BBC’s Nyasha Michelle in an interview that she predicted he would be a force to reckon with in the world of music.
According to her,
“I think I had know at age 13 or 14 that he was going to be great at something and that thing was probably going to be music.
“I had already seen him in the studio, I had already watched him form a high school band,” she said.
“From when he was in JSS3, which I think would be Year 9, we started trading studio time for grades. I would say: ‘OK, if you make a B or an A in this, I’ll pay for studio time during your mid-term’.”
Mama Burna as she’s fondly called mentioned though she had a strong premonition about his musical prowess, yet as a typical African parent, she encouraged him to get formal education.
She said,
“The African parents we were raised to be, you always want to make them go to school and get a degree. Just because you’re convincing yourself that they need a safety net. Or you’re ticking the boxes or whatever.”
Underlying her achievement before assuming the ‘Mama Burna’ and managing her son full-time, the Spaceship Collective CEO added;
“Before being Mama Burna, I was trained as an interpreter and a translator.
“I worked around most of the countries in West Africa. I ran a language school for 18 years.”