Afro-fusion singer and songwriter Burna Boy has gained a lot of international recognition in the past year. His dramatic entry into the international music scene expands the world’s interest in Nigerian music and Afropop in general. Today, we will take a quick look into how Burna Boy became the African Giant.
‘Ye’
The first instance of the domino effect started in June 2018 when Kanye West fans accidentally stumbled upon Burna Boy’s single, “Ye“. Kanye also released his album of the same name on Apple Music. This brought a lot of attention from Apple Music users who began to listen and share Burna Boy’s music. Although he already had a significant following, the effects of this mistake were dramatic.
“Ye” became a pop culture phenomenon, with social media users making videos, covers and versions of the song. By October, Burna Boy was selling out auditoriums in London and topping charts on online streaming platforms. By the end of the year, “Ye” was the biggest song in Nigeria.
Big font energy
On Tuesday night, 14th August 2019, Burna Boy went on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Amongst the conversations they had was his Coachella controversy. Early this year, Burna Boy complained about his name not being visible enough on the promotional image for the music festival.
Burna Boy took to Instagram to complain about the small font used for his name. He met mockery and criticism from a lot of Nigerians online. However, the fact that Coachella did not kick him off the list after his outburst further threw him into the limelight.
Had he not complained, he would probably have been known as the Nigerian artist who came to perform for Africans in the diaspora. But the small font controversy piqued the curiosity of people that had never even heard of Burna Boy.
If Coachella doesn’t boot him off this lineup, this move will work for him, bet.
He was just a name on the lineup that mostly Nigerians were excited about , now he is an act that TSR made 2 posts about, and the Fader etc are referencing about Coachella.— Doreen 🌴🥥 (@DoreenGLM) January 3, 2019
Despite the drama, Coachella came and passed smoothly, and Burna Boy garnered even more fans. It turned out to be an excellent PR move.
Interviews and international collaborations
Over the next few months, Burna Boy collaborated with musicians and producers from all over the world. He was even featured on Beyonce’s “Lion King: The Gift” album. His fanbase has widened, encompassing Africans, Latinx, and other groups of people. Even his featureless tracks like ‘Gbona’ and ‘On The Low’ have received a lot of positive attention from fans as far as the Carribean.
Following the release of his “African Giant” album, Burna Boy has been granting interviews all over the world. So far, he has been interviewed by Jimmy Kimmel Live, Sway’s Universe, The Breakfast Club, Beats 1, GQ and, two days ago, The Daily Show.
He managed to take his music and then sell it to people that cannot relate to who he is or where he is from. That is certainly commendable. His most recent album, African Giant, was highly anticipated and has not fallen short of expectations. Nevertheless, Burna Boy is well on his way to becoming a legend.
