Global Afrofusion superstar Burna Boy has extended an olive branch to the Afrobeats community after facing criticism over past remarks in which he appeared to distance himself from the genre that helped catapult him to international fame.
In a candid conversation with BBC 1Xtra’s Eddie Kadi, the Grammy-winning Nigerian artist admitted that he now understands the value of the “Afrobeats” tag despite his earlier rejection of it and publicly apologised for the confusion his comments caused.
Burna Boy, born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, came under fire following a 2023 interview with Apple Music, where he controversially claimed that Afrobeats “lacks substance” and that many of its artists had “almost no real-life experiences.” The remarks sparked backlash across social media and among fans who felt betrayed by one of the genre’s most visible torchbearers.
Now, the 33-year-old singer is offering some clarity, saying his mindset at the time played a huge role in the delivery and tone of his statements. “I was in a dark place mentally,” he told Kadi. “I wasn’t the happiest man in the world.”
He went on to explain that the strong reaction to his comments helped shift his perspective. “I got the point of the Afrobeats tag in that moment,” he said. “I totally get it and I apologise for that confusion.”
The Nigerian singer, who made history in 2023 by becoming the first African artist to headline a stadium concert in the UK, emphasized that while he has always viewed his sound as a fusion of multiple genres, he now recognises the power of unity under the Afrobeats label.
“I didn’t understand why people wanted my music to be inside one box,” Burna explained. “The way I saw it, if you just put everything into Afrobeats, you’re now comparing Socrates to Kendrick Lamar because they both said two things that rhyme so they both must be rappers.”
Despite grappling with genre classification, Burna Boy has fully leaned into the Afrobeats movement on his latest project, No Sign of Weakness, released last week. “I learnt to embrace the fact that I will always be different,” he added. “I’m not going to be the favourite but I’m going to be the best.”
With nearly 24 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Burna Boy is one of the most streamed African artists globally. He also recently graced the stage at the Wireless Festival, where he delivered yet another unforgettable performance, further cementing his status as a world-class live act.
“Performing live is my main passion,” he said. “I want to be able to do this until I die… I want to be doing this the way someone like Coldplay has been doing it for a long time, or The Rolling Stones.”
In fact, Burna’s deep love for live performance and musical longevity inspired a surprising collaboration with one of his idols, 81-year-old rock legend Mick Jagger. The Rolling Stones frontman features on Empty Chairs, a standout track from No Sign of Weakness.
“Mick Jagger is the rock star,” Burna enthused. “I felt he, out of everyone in the world, would understand where I was coming from with this song lyrically and he did.” He described the collaboration as “one of the best experiences I’ve had.”
Currently on a massive European and North American tour set to run through the end of the year, Burna Boy appears to be in a new, more self-aware chapter of his career, one where he’s no longer running from labels, but rewriting them on his own terms.
