Bose Ogulu, the mother and manager of Grammy-winning Nigerian artist Burna Boy, has been nominated for Manager of the Year at the 2025 Music Week Awards. The nomination was announced on Wednesday, placing her among other leading contenders for the prestigious award.
The 2025 Music Week Awards ceremony will take place on May 8 at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London, UK. The Manager of the Year category recognizes exceptional talent in the global music management scene, with other nominees including Alistair Goldsmith, Neil Hughes, and Wes Banton.
The Music Week Awards honor excellence across various areas of the music industry, including labels, A&R, live events, and management. Winners are determined by peer voting and an independent panel of judges.
This is not Ogulu’s first international recognition. In 2022, she was awarded Manager of the Year at the Artist & Manager Awards in London, solidifying her status as a force in music management.
Ogulu is a linguist and cultural advocate with a Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Languages and a Master’s in Translation from the University of Port Harcourt. Her background is steeped in the arts—her father, Benson Idonije, was a renowned Nigerian music critic and the first manager of Afrobeat icon Fela Kuti. Ogulu herself was once a background dancer for Fela.
Before diving into music management, she had a successful career as a translator for the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce, fluent in English, French, German, Italian, and Yoruba.
Ogulu’s strategic leadership has played a pivotal role in Burna Boy’s global success, securing major deals and amplifying his international recognition. She also co-founded Spaceship Collective, a platform that supports African artists and helps extend Afrobeats’ influence globally.
