Burna Boy has issued an apology for his remarks that created a distance between him and Afrobeats, a genre he has significantly contributed to on a global scale. The Nigerian vocalist and songwriter, a pioneer in his field, found himself amidst a storm of criticism following a 2023 Apple Music interview where he expressed that Afrobeats "lacked depth" and most artists within the genre possessed "hardly any genuine life experiences."
In a conversation with Eddie Kadi of 1Xtra, Burna, whose real name is Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, opened up about how the backlash against his statements illuminated the significance of having an umbrella term to propel the Afrobeats movement forward. In 2023, he etched his name in history by becoming the first African artist to headline a stadium show in the UK, a feat achieved while already adorned with a Grammy and renowned for his reign over the Official UK Afrobeats chart.
However, at that juncture, Burna was reluctant to let his music, which he viewed as a "fusion of diverse elements," be confined by a single label. "I couldn't fathom why individuals insisted on categorizing my music within one box," he said. "In my perspective, lumping everything under Afrobeats was akin to comparing Socrates to Kendrick Lamar solely because both rhyme, thereby branding them both as rappers."
Burna confessed that he was "mentally in a somber state" when he made those comments. "I wasn't exactly beaming with joy," he admitted. The "rift" his words created assisted him in coming to terms with his viewpoint. "In that instant, I grasped the essence of the Afrobeats tag," he reflected. "I now fully comprehend it, and I apologize for the confusion I caused."
He now embraces the label with contentment, a sentiment that resonates through his newly released album, No Sign of Weakness, which dropped last week. "I've learned to accept that I'll always be unique," he mused. "I might not be everyone's favorite, but I strive to be the best."
With nearly 24 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Burna Boy captivated audiences at the Wireless Festival on Sunday. Performing live, he emphasized, is his primary passion. "I aspire to do this until my last breath," he enthused. "I envision myself continuing this journey, much like Coldplay or The Rolling Stones have done for decades. These icons are still performing at the level I aspire to, so why don't I see anyone who looks like me achieving the same heights at their age? The answer is simple, albeit it may sound radical: they simply don't love it as much as I do."
Suspecting, correctly so, that his idol, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, could relate, he invited him to feature on his latest track, Empty Chairs. "Mick Jagger is the quintessential rock star," he noted. "I sensed that, more than anyone else, he would resonate with the lyrics of this song, and he did." Collaborating with the 81-year-old rocker was, according to Burna, "one of the most extraordinary experiences I've ever had."
The singer has embarked on his European and North American tour, set to conclude by year's end.
