Burna Boy Facts: How a Tiny Coachella Font Created the 'African Giant'

Burna Boy is the most-featured artist in the Videojam catalogue, which feels appropriate for a man who literally rebranded himself as a giant. His rise from Nigerian star to global headliner is full of great stories — and the best one starts with a font size.

1. The tiny font that became a brand

In 2019, Coachella released its lineup poster, and Burna Boy's name appeared way down in the third row, in the small print reserved for less-established acts. Most artists would grumble privately. Burna took it to Instagram with one of the great pieces of self-mythologising in modern music:

"I don't appreciate the way my name is written so small in your bill. I am an AFRICAN GIANT and will not be reduced to whatever that tiny writing means. Fix tings quick please."

Then he did the genius part. A few months later he released his fourth album — and called it African Giant. He took a festival's idea of his size and printed his actual opinion on the cover. The slight became the slogan.

2. The slight turned into a Grammy

The story has a near-perfect arc. African Giant earned Burna his first Grammy nomination, at the 2020 ceremony (then called Best World Music Album). He lost — to the legendary Angélique Kidjo, who graciously used part of her acceptance speech to celebrate him and the new generation of African artists.

The very next year, he came back with Twice as Tall and won Best Global Music Album at the 2021 Grammys. From "your font is too small" to a gramophone on the shelf in roughly two years. As redemption arcs go, it writes itself.

3. The Kanye coincidence that boosted "Ye"

One of Burna's signature songs is "Ye," from Outside (2018). That same year, Kanye West released an album also called ye. The result was a glorious accident: fans hunting for Kanye's record kept stumbling onto Burna Boy's "Ye" instead — and a lot of them stayed. A naming collision quietly handed Burna a stream of new listeners he never had to pay for. Sometimes the algorithm's confusion works in your favour.

4. "Last Last" runs on heartbreak — and Toni Braxton

His 2022 anthem "Last Last" — the sound of getting over someone with the help of "igbo and shayo" — is built on a sample of Toni Braxton's "He Wasn't Man Enough" (2000). A 2020s Afrobeats breakup banger powered by an early-2000s American R&B classic: proof that a great hook never really retires, it just changes passports.

Watch on VideoJam

The African Giant, in his own words. Start with "Ye" — yes, that "Ye."

More true-but-ridiculous music stories in our Music Trivia series, and dive into more Afrobeats on Videojam.