How I managed Burnaboy out of sacrifice – Bose Ogulu reveals

Singer Burnaboy’s mom, Bose Ogulu, has opened up on how she managed him as a form of sacrifice and not ambition.

Speaking in a recent chat with TV host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, the businesswoman said, “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.

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.

I just thought, ‘I can’t help you with talent, but I can help with everything else.’ Fortunately, that scene is not new to me. I’ve done business for most of my life. I’ve been touring for language immersion most of my life. 

For me, I came to manage him as a form of sacrifice, not ambition. And it’s gratifying to know that it’s become work that I love and can come up to become a legacy. What’s next for me? I look to keep doing what I’m doing.”