Burna Boy has responded to African Americans criticizing him over his recent statement about connecting to their roots in Africa.
The Nigerian singer is currently one of the biggest Afrobeats stars in the world, with 13.6 million followers on Instagram and over 15 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Burna Boy also recently scored his second platinum-selling single in the United States with “Last Last,” selling over a million units in less than a year after the song’s release. This positioned the Afrobeats singer as one of the most popular artists in the United States, the world’s larger consumer of music.
Burna Boy recently raised some eyebrows with a statement he made about African Americans should connect with their roots in Africa and perhaps leave the diaspora and go home. It seems his comment did not go down well with some folks who pushed back on Twitter. In making his argument, Burna says that Chinese and Italian descendants living in America don’t go through as much struggle as African Americans because they know their roots.
“Why do you think Chinese-Americans have their respect and don’t go through the things that African Americans go through?” the singer questioned. “The Chinese American has a base; he knows he’s from China. Italian Americans know where their grandparents came from in Italy. They know the first person from their family to come to America to start that line… same goes to everyone else except the African Americans.”
Burna Boy has been getting heavy criticism on Twitter since he made the comments broadcast on social media. He has now responded to his critics, noting that he didn’t say African Americans are not Americans.
“It’s sad to see that in 2023 there are still such Black people who would prefer we stay divided and conquered,” Burna wrote in a statement on his Instagram Story. “You deserve all the land and reparations you want from America and I’m 100% in support of that. All I’ve ever done is try to make you understand that you have Africa too that loves you. And I believe coming together as brothers and sisters is the only way forward for us Black people worldwide. You work against the progress of our people worldwide if your goal is to keep us divided.”
It’s not uncommon for entertainers to share their thoughts on social and political topics. Afrobeats music was inspired by reggae music, a genre that defines protest music and music centered around the upliftment of humanity. Hence, it’s no surprise when we see Afrobeats artists like Burna Boy being vocal about social and even political topics.
Burna Boy, whose real name is Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, is gearing up for a big performance at the upcoming UEFA Champions League Final Kick-Off Show in Istanbul on Saturday, 10 June. He recently performed at the NBA All-Star Game halftime show with Tems and Rema and also had a big show in Kingston, Jamaica, last month, which saw him perform with Popcaan.
