Rapper Phenom reveals that Burna Boy received a $5 million advance payment from the record label.

Nigerian hip-hop artist Phenom has disclosed that Grammy-winning singer Burna Boy secured a $5 million advance payment before finalizing his recording deal with the American record label Atlantic Records in 2017. According to Phenom, the advance was facilitated by Matthew ‘Baus’ Adesuyan, the Nigerian-American music executive and owner of Bad Habit, an imprint of Atlantic Records, to which Burna Boy is currently signed. This revelation came to light during Phenom’s recent appearance on The Yarns podcast.

In addition, Phenom expressed his willingness to return to rapping if offered a $1 million advance payment from any record label. He highlighted the trend in the United States, where significant contracts are extended to artists in the rap genre. Even before Burna Boy’s musical resurgence, Phenom claimed that Matthew ‘Baus’ Adesuyan, the connection between Burna Boy and Atlantic Records, facilitated a $5 million advance payment for Burna Boy.

Anticipating a shift in the music landscape, Phenom predicted that emerging rappers like Odumodublvck might transition from rap to singing due to the diminishing profitability of hip-hop. He illustrated that if an artist like Odumodublvck were offered a $100,000 advance by a record label, the financial incentive might lead them to switch to singing, utilizing platforms like TikTok to meet the label’s expectations.