Afro-fusion musician BNXN came to prominence in his hometown of Lagos, Nigeria, building buzz for his smooth vocal style through major collaborations with Burna Boy and Pheelz. His first solo project arrived with 2021 EP Sorry I’m Late, followed the subsequent year by Bad Since ’97.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, singer Daniel Benson grew up in the city’s Gbagada neighborhood, picking up early influences from artists including P-Square, 9ice, and D’Banj. Leaving university to produce music full-time, the young vocalist settled on the name Buju, a reference to his roots (“Buju” means breadfruit, and is a nickname given to children), which he created an acronym for: Beauty Underneath Just Understood. Debuting in 2018, he garnered early attention with the singles “A Day in Lagos,” “Energy,” and “Commander,” adopting a smooth Afro-fusion style that capitalized on his vocal abilities. His first big break was thanks to local rap royalty Zlatan -- after seeing a viral snippet of single Buju's single “Spiritual” online, Zlatan agreed to hop on the track, bringing Benson’s sound to his biggest audience yet.

In early 2020, the vocalist received a career-defining co-sign from Nigerian superstar Burna Boy, who reached out to collaborate after hearing Buju’s “L’Enu.” The duo’s remix to the track, released on new label Spaceship Records, soon garnered over a million streams. Now a certified presence in his country’s music scene, Benson built his profile with strong singles like “Outside” and a high-profile feature on Ladipoe’s “Feeling,” before issuing debut EP Sorry I’m Late in 2021. Rebranding to BNXN (pronounced “Benson”) in 2022, the singer found his biggest hit to date on Pheelz’ viral hit “Finesse,” before collaborating heavily with the U.K. rap scene on JAE5’s “Propeller,” B Young’s “Ocean,” and M Huncho’s “Pray 2 the East.” His second EP, Bad Since ’97, arrived later that year, taking a stronger Afrobeats influence and boasting a feature from Wizkid. ~ David Crone, Rovi