Burna Boy Keeps Proving He’s the African Giant

Where last year’s London Stadium debut featured guest appearances from Jamaican dancehall maestro Popcaan and multiple U.K.-based collaborators, including J Hus, Dave and Stormzy, Burna Boy was primarily solo during his headline set. From the clips floating around online, it was obvious that his presence alone, along with a raft of popular hit songs, held the crowd in a spellbound frenzy.

As part of the supporting tour for his last album, I Told Them…, his set was suffused with songs from the Grammy-nominated body of work. The primary tone, as it usually is with Burna Boy shows, was celebratory. Even peering into recorded moments through phone screens, there’s an abundance of swagger from the stage, turning into communal excitement as it reaches the crowd.

On his historic night, Burna extended the spotlight to several Nigerian artists. “Giza” collaborator Seyi Vibez appeared for a cameo, while fellow Port Harcourt natives Omah Lay and ODUMODUBLVCK, and Benin (Edo State, Nigeria) breakout star Shallipopi were amongst the show openers. It hints at a more conscious approach for Burna Boy, actively nudging the generation right after him towards a similar plane of greatness, extending the validity of his achievements beyond his context alone.

A day after his London Stadium show, Burna Boy was on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage, performing in the late evening spot just before festival headliner SZA. Again, he was right at home on one of the biggest festival stages in the world, beaming with unbridled swagger as he went through a roll call of hit songs from across his last five albums, dating back to Outside, the project that spawned one of his most known songs, “YE,” and firmly placed him on the path to mainstream success in the U.K. and beyond.

On several occasions, Burna Boy has referred to the U.K. as his second home, having lived there for several years as a teenager. Also, he’s collaborated with many popular British artists, including Ed Sheeran, Jorja Smith, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Lily Allen and many more. So, his successes in British territory feel apt and very much earned.

After Saturday night’s show in London, Burna Boy was given a plaque for surpassing one billion streams in the U.K. However, the singer didn’t seem all too enthused because he had already passed the two billion streams threshold.

In a sense, that’s the most Burna Boy thing ever, fully demanding what he thinks is his, even if it borders on, or completely veers into, arrogance. A notable example, and possibly the most formative one yet, is from the Coachella 2019 lineup announcement, when Burna Boy was incensed by the font size of his name on the flier.

Five years later, he’s sold out — and keeps selling out — the biggest venues in the world, and performs primetime slots at festivals. He’s won a Grammy, a few BRIT Awards, and of major consequence, he’s forcing broader recognition from awards beyond the customary international category. A few months after scoring a nod for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the Grammys, he was nominated for both Best Male Hip-Hop Artist and Best Male R&B/Pop Artist at Sunday’s BET Awards, a rare feat, not just for an African artist but any artist, period.

Burna Boy has yet to win one of these non-international categories, which means he still has more to aim for. At the same time, for an artist who’s been a prolific creator and an incredibly durable, dedicated performer during this extended peak, being the best artist he can be comes to him pretty easily. It’s why the wins will keep piling up organically.