Afrobeats

Burna Sparks Fan Outrage Over Stage Walkout During BAFEST 2019

Burna Boy
Burna Boy

Going by Twitter comments, last night was no Burna Boy experience. The Nigerian international seems to dominate the news cycle for his phenomenal achievements and awards, except this time. The “Own It” hitmaker was in the midst of fan outrage, one sparked by his alleged unprofessional behavior at the Born In Africa Festival hosted by Access Bank.

The concert experienced some technical hitches with sound, affecting Burna Boy’s scheduled performance. Clearly frustrated, the BET Award-winning artist, did a short freestyle, then angrily stormed out of the venue.

For a while, the afro-fusion star trended with some visibly irritated by his disrespectful conduct. There was dissatisfaction as to how the African Giant handled the entire situation. Having shared a stage with Cardi B, in Lagos, Burna might have unknowingly set the expectations of his fans too high.

BAFEST is the short form for Access Bank Born In Africa Festival. Nigeria’s largest festival encompassing art, film, fashion, and music. Its purpose is to showcase African culture internationally.

Having started in 2018, the show has attracted tens of thousands of people, and millions more afterward. Other big names in the entertainment scene such as Flavor N’abania, Tiwa Savage, Patoranking, Maria Borges, Tokyo James, Wisdom Franklin, Adesuwa Aighewi, Odio Mimonet, Millen Magese, and others, are lined up for this year’s event.

Burna has had a packed December promoting his new album “African Giant” with his African Giant Returns tour.

A similar incident to this happened at one of Burna’s shows. Video clips showed dancehall artists stopped from his energetic performance and addressed the fans before ordering security to take out a fan from the front row. The incident sparked a sharp online debate as to whether it was right or not for the African sensation to embarrass a fan.