Biography of Livingstone Etse Satekla (Stonebwoy Burniton)

STONEBWOY BURNITON

Stonebwoy Burniton (born Livingstone Etse Satekla) hails from the Anloga, Volta Region of Ghana as the 4th child of 7 siblings born on Saturday 5th March 1988 in Ashaiman. He is a Ghanaian based musician specialised in Dancehall, Reggae, Afrobeats genres but has featured on Afropop, R&B and Hip-Life tracks due to his versatility. On a global scale Stonebwoy Burniton is a talented songwriter, singer and performer. He initially started of by working with S24 Studios, Samini Music, High Grade Family and Asasease Music. He is currently not signed up to a Record Label; his career is presently being managed by his own BURNITON MUSIC GROUP (BMG) (Ghana and UK). 

Early Life

He studied at Methodist Day Secondary School the same year with rapper Sarkodie where he gained his High School Leaving Certificate. He continued his tertiary education at University of Professional Studies to earn a degree in Marketing in 2013. He realised his talents and abilities as a lyricist and script writer at an early age, remembering writing and acting drama pieces as far back as fourth year in primary school. Since then he has never stopped singing both songs that he has written and composed and those by artists he is influenced by.

Music Career

He began performing as Stonebwoy from high school  as an underground artiste. He appeared on a popular rap competition "Kasahare Level" on Adom FM which featured colleagues like Sarkodie and Dr Cryme. With his talent, he made it to known as one of the rising artiste in the Dancehall genre in Ghana. Stonebwoy released his first radio track “Makuma” (My Heart) in his second year at Tema Methodist Senior High School and several others hit the airwaves that same year. By the next academic year, he had acquired himself a stable underground popularity and this convinced him to release another track titled “Empress” which held him up even after leaving school in 2007.

 After leaving school, Stonebwoy started work with S24 studios, the studio responsible for hits from artists such as Samini, Tic Tac, Okomfuor Kwaade, Buk Bak among others. In 2008, he met Samini and they started the cordial relationship due to them belonging to the same genre. He then became affiliated with the "Samini Music" record label.Under "Samini Music", Stonebwoy recorded his first hit single "Climax" featuring Samini and later "Ghetto Love" featuring Irene Logan. Both songs earned him nominations at the Ghana Music Awards. After this exposure due to his nominations, he released his debut album "Grade 1 Album" under his Burniton Music Group Label and he tuned the mind of the youth to his music. Stonebwoy then became household name in the music industry of Ghana. He has been building up his talent and craft due to his affiliation with major artists that he shared stages with.On 30th December 2011, he performed at a show at the Accra International Conference Centre, The Dome. The next year, Stonebwoy performed at the “Resolution 2012” put together by Badhabbits Entertainment which hosted Ghanaian artists such as Eazzy, Castro, Black Prophet, Edem, Jupiter, Kaakie, Iwan, Samini and Sonniballi and featured International acts such as Kiprich and Busy Signal.

Prior to Stonebwoy’s album launch, three new singles featuring Irene Logan “Ghetto Love”, Edem “Above The Sky” and Tinny “Onumadé” are still receiving a lot of airplay, not just in Ghana but in Europe, especially in Spain and Italy. Under Samini Music, Stonebwoy released his much awaited debut album called ‘Grade #1′ on 6th March 2012 in conjunction with Ghana’s 56th Independence Day and his birthday weekend. Along with his stunning track Climax, some of the other tracks on the album include the popular Rat Race, Rudegyal, Pullback, Crazy and others..He connected with Jamaica’s Karamanti in August 2012 and featured her on his song X-Factor which is currently being played on Jamaican radio and other stations in the Caribbean. 

Stonebwoy often ragga in Jamaican Patois (Patwa or Patwah), and is considered a "multifaceted rapper" due to the various musical styles he possess. His sophomore album, Necessary Evil, was the recipient of numerous awards and nominations. He brands himself with the baritone music descant – ‘BHIIM!’ – which has gradually caught the lips of most of his fans in the world. With another album to his credit, he is looking forward to performing on international scenes and handling music projects with all acts across the world.

Discography

 Grade 1 Album (2009) 
Necessary Evil (2012)

Hit Tracks
Climax

Ghetto Love

Baafira Kwenaamu

Onumade

Physically

Not Again

Bhim Nation 

Give It To Dem

Zongo Girl

Whine Up

Can't Cool

Pull Up

Collaborations

Patoranking

Adez

Pope Skinny

Castro

Obrafuor

Humble Dis

E.L

Sarkodie

Samini

Edem

Irene Logan and more

Awards and Nominations

Awards

2013

BASS Awards: Best Collaboration

2014

BASS Awards: Best Dancehall Collaboration, Dancehall Song of the Year

2015

Ghana Music Awards: Artiste of the Year, Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year,Reggae/Dancehall Song of the Year

Nominations

2012

Ghana Music Awards: Reggae Song of the Year

2013

Ghana Music Awards: Reggae/Dancehall Song of the Year

2014

Ghana Music Awards: Reggae/Dancehall Song of the Year

2015

Ghana Music Awards: Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Collaboration