When talent meets hard work, the product is usually a lot of success. When hard work and talent meet insane confidence, the product is a sensational superstar. Meet BNXN, the sensational superstar.
Daniel Benson aka BNXN, formerly known as Buju, is a famous Nigerian Afro-fusion musician. Young and unknown, coming to the Nigerian music scene already saturated with well-known commodities and sounds, it took nothing less than sheer hard work and the appreciation of talent mixed with the right level of confidence for BNXN to break out as a genuine heavyweight in the industry.
Daniel Benson got his change in 2018 when he kickstarted his career with the release of single after single. He knew his voice was smooth and soothing, his small circle knew it too, however, he needed the whole world to hear him too. Here the power of the internet took over. Through sheer word of mouth resulting from massive social media engagements on Twitter, BNXN got the Nigerian music scene buzzing. For the first time, people began asking “who is this guy?”. It didn’t take long from it to go from casual listeners to the big heavyweights, and they came in troves; first, it was Zlatan and soon it was the African giant himself, and then everyone else.
BNXN’s talent made the sweet music, his hard work pushed it into mainstream music, and his confidence came into play. With an absurd level of belief in his abilities, BNXN carried himself like a mega star already and was clearly a ready-made star for the industry. After multiple references and shout-outs on Twitter, BNXN got the push he needed when Zlatan decided to feature on a track with him titled Spiritual. Zlatan himself being one of the hottest properties on the Nigerian music scene, the exposure came immediately and soon Burna Boy got wind of the Buju wave. BNXN had just dropped a new EP and it contained one song that’ll take him to yet another level. Burna Boy, a grammy award-winning artiste listened to Lenu, a song from the EP that was already topping charts. Impressed by the song, BNXN’s carriage and brand, he immediately decided to sign him and make a remix to the already hit song. Daniel’s life would never remain the same again. With the remix Lenu took BNXN from a Twitter sensation to a household name.
His music style was also markedly different. The percussion instruments and wavy flows in Lenu exemplarily carried BNXN’s voice like the perfect ship. Listening to the track made you feel like you were on a beach with the cool breeze hitting your skin. The afro-beats made sure you felt the African joy. A feel-good song if there ever was one, BNXN quickly and easily stood out. People desperately wanted to feel good in 2020, especially with the pandemic, and BNXN music was a no-brainer choice. 2021 rolled around and brought the biggest year yet for the young and confident singer. Not afraid of any challenge, BNXN gracefully welcomed rewarding collabs with good artists. he struck gold when he featured on a track with rapper Ladipoe titled Feeling. Arguably the biggest song of the year despite dropping in May, Feeling was a massive hit. Catchy, smooth, easy flowing, everybody including their parents sang along whenever Feeling came up on the speaker. Feeling was the beginning of something great for BNXN, the whole music industry saw what his voice and aura did for feeling and they all wanted to do a song with him. He did feature after feature and frankly, they were all worth it; everything BNXN touched in 2021 turned to gold. BNXN topped all the charts with multiple songs, he literally held the music scene in a chokehold and we just couldn’t get enough of him.
As 2021 rolled into 2022, BNXN didn’t let up and hasn’t let up. He’s a legitimate superstar now signed with EMPIRE records. He’s the prince of Nigerian music and despite changing his stage name from BUJU to BNXN is still one of the most recognizable music brands in Africa.
“Art for me is an expression…..I just knew I wanted to express myself….I finally found my standing and my spot, and I’m very comfortable where I am”. – BNXN.