Nigerian singer, Olawale Oloforo, popularly known as Brymo, has publicly alleged that Burna Boy’s Grammy Award victory was purchased, while simultaneously claiming he was once asked to pay $10,000 to secure a BET Award nomination.
Brymo made the allegations during a Tuesday episode on the NotJustOk podcast on YouTube.
He was reacting to a diss Burna Boy delivered in a 2023 freestyle, in which the Grammy-winning artist said: “Hustle make you no fall off like Brymo.”
The tension between the two artists dates back to September 2023, when Brymo publicly labelled Burna Boy a thief and called him unoriginal.
He accused him and a wave of younger artists, including Davido, Wizkid and Rema, of borrowing from older generations while trying to erase their contributions.
Brymo also argued that “Afrobeat” was never a genre but a style of music, and that the suffix “s” added to create “Afrobeats” was a deliberate attempt to dilute Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s legacy.
While the other artists named did not react, Burna Boy later responded to the friction during a live freestyle session by delivering the viral shade line, “Hustle make you no fall off like Brymo.”
Reacting to the lyric, Brymo said he was surprised that an artist of Burna Boy’s caliber would include it.
“I was surprised that he is flying so high and he did not realize how mediocre that was. I should be that important,” he said.
He revealed that he confronted Burna Boy directly and made it clear he would not reciprocate in his own music.
“I told him your name go no ever appear for my song,” Brymo stated.
Turning to Burna Boy’s Grammy win, Brymo dismissed the award’s significance. “You won a Grammy and so what? It was bought now. Who’s your mate,” he said.
Brymo used the platform to question the overall integrity of major international music award systems, leveling specific accusations against both the Recording Academy and the BET Awards
He further shared a personal experience alleging that he was personally approached in the past to pay a $10,000 fee in exchange for a BET nomination.
“I’ve been told to pay $10k for a BET Awards before,” Brymo said.
He heavily criticized Burna Boy’s artistic capabilities, questioning if the global star could actually write, perform, or sing independently.
“Can you perform, can you write, can you sing? I don’t care what fraternity you belong to,” Brymo added.
The statements have sparked intense debate among music fans across social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Many loyal supporters of Burna Boy defended his accolades, pointing to his massive global touring success and consistent streaming metrics as clear proof of his merit.
Conversely, others defended Brymo’s right to fire back after being publicly mocked in Burna Boy’s lyrics.
As of press time, neither Burna Boy’s management camp nor the organizers of the BET Awards have issued official statements regarding these bribery allegations.
