In a candid episode of The Afropolitan Podcast, veteran music executive and Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Obi Asika, pulled back the curtain on just how tough Burna’s early climb was and how the Port Harcourt-bred artist wasn’t exactly handed a seat at the table.

“This same Burna Boy that’s a million dollars plus today, they be blocking him,” Asika shared.  Going ahead to insinuate that Burna's background played a huge role in him getting blacklisted during his journey to stardom.

“He’s from Port Harcourt, he’s not from Lagos, so they be blocking him.” The entertainer added. 

In an industry largely dominated by Lagos networks and gatekeepers, Burna’s outsider status put him at a disadvantage from day one. According to Asika, even free performance slots were hard to come by. Burna wasn’t just ignored he was actively sidelined.

But in true Burna fashion, what could’ve crushed another artist became fuel for an unrelenting drive.

“The same Burna Boy has bypassed everybody and exploded and now he can't be blocked anymore,” Asika added, giving a nod to Burna’s resilience and undeniable rise to the top.

And Burna himself wasn’t about to let that moment pass without dropping his own version of events. Reacting to the podcast clip, the Grammy winner made it clear: the real story is even darker than what Asika shared.

"This is not even half of the story,” the Grammy Award winning singer wrote on social media. “They did everything they possibly could to break me, they are even still trying their best lol but all they did was create this unquenchable FIRE that will continue to burn them for eternity.”

It's a scathing, poetic mic drop, one that echoes a narrative Burna Boy has stood by for years. Long before the world tours, festival headlines and chart-topping albums, he was outspoken about being blacklisted by key players in Nigeria’s music scene, including major media outlets.

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Despite being one of the most gifted genre-benders of his generation, his path was neither conventional nor celebrated until his global wins made it impossible to look away.

But maybe that’s the point. Burna’s story is less about overnight success and more about stubborn vision, sharp artistry, and refusing to play by an industry’s unwritten rules.

While many begged for visibility, he built his brand independently, laced with bold lyrics, controversial truths, and a persona too magnetic to ignore.