Grammy-winning Nigerian artist Burna Boy has opened up about his desire to start a family, a dream he says he’s intentionally postponing for the sake of being a fully present father.
In an interview with BBC Radio 1Xtra, the Afrofusion star, born Damini Ogulu, revealed that having a family has become his most important personal goal, but one he refuses to rush into.
“I can’t wait to have a family. That’s my main goal now,” he said.
However, Burna explained that the demands of his international music career make it difficult to give fatherhood the attention and dedication it deserves.
“It’s not really something that is achievable for me right now because it’s not something I want to achieve on the road,” he noted.
Reflecting on the kind of father he aspires to be, Burna Boy spoke fondly of his own upbringing and the presence of his father during his formative years, a presence he says is more valuable than wealth.
“My dad was not rich but he was there,” he recalled. “Imagine I have kids and they come on this interview and they’ll be like, ‘Yeah, my dad was rich but he wasn’t there. We had everything but he wasn’t there.’”
The singer emphasized that when he does become a parent, it will be during a period when he can be hands-on and fully involved, even if that means stepping away from the spotlight for years.
“It’s something I want to do when I can say, you know what, let me take three years or four years off… go to my children’s schools and do actual things that my dad did for me,” he said.
“I should give better, not the one or the other,” he concluded.