burna boy

The Inaugural ‘Billboard’ Afrobeats Chart Is Dominated By Justin Bieber And Ed Sheeran

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Justin Bieber Ed Sheeran Ed Sheeran Jumpers For Goalposts Premiere 2015
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Last week, Billboard announced they were partnering with Afro Nation on the new US Afrobeats Songs chart, which “ranks the 50 most popular Afrobeats songs in the country based on a weighted formula incorporating official streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of leading audio and video music services, plus download sales from top music retailers.” The inaugural edition of the chart launched today and dominating the top spots are some big names not traditionally/primarily associated with Afrobeats music.

Three of the top five spots on the April 2-dated chart are occupied by songs featuring Ed Sheeran or Justin Bieber: CKay’s “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)” is No. 1, Fireboy DML and Sheeran’s “Peru” is No. 2, Wizkid’s Bieber- and Tems-featuring “Peru” is No. 3, Omah Lay’s Bieber-featuring “Attention” is No. 4, and Tems’ “Free Mind” is No. 5.

Looking at the full top 50, Tems is the clear leader overall with eight entries, followed by Wizkid’s six, Burna Boy’s five, Rema’s four, and Davido’s three.

When the chart was announced last week, Afro Nation founder, co-head of UTA London, and Event Horizon founder Obi Asika said, “The last decade has seen Afrobeats explode into a worldwide phenomenon, influencing culture and fashion across the globe and I am humbled to have made a contribution to growing the genre alongside many talented, passionate people. There is still so much more potential within the scene and the community that has grown around it and I believe it is vital that with Billboard we now have a US chart that reflects this growth and provides a platform for emerging artists from every continent to showcase their talent to new audiences.”

Silvio Pietroluongo, Billboard‘s SVP of Charts and Development, added, “Billboard is excited to collaborate with Afro Nation on the launch of the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart. As with much of the world, Afrobeats has grown tremendously as a genre in America and we are proud to showcase the top songs and artists with this new weekly ranking.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Burna Boy And Wizkid Have A Ball In Their Triumphant ‘B. D’OR’ Video

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Burna Boy and Wizkid bring out the titular trophies in their triumphant video for “B. D’OR” — which they promptly slice in half, turning the coveted football awards into expensive-looking chalices. While I’m almost certain the trophies used in the video — which was shot in Lagos and features a cameo from UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman — are replicas rather than the real thing, it’s still a flex for the two Nigerian superstars, who spend the remainder of the video riding jetskis and hosting a yacht party in the Lagos bay.

The collaboration, which is the second in a year for the two famed Afrobeats stars, is named for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award given to the “best male football player in the world.” While the two stars’ own soccer skills are mostly unknown, the two certainly can claim to be in a similar echelon of worldwide popularity as the award’s various winners, as they are the most well-known artists in their genre (incidentally, the last and only African player to receive the award was Liberian striker George Weah in 1995).

Burna and Wizkid are both set to headline the upcoming Afro Nation festival later this year in Portugal (COVID protocols providing) alongside Megan Thee Stallion.

Watch the “B. D’OR” video above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Burna Boy And Wizkid Demand Their Trophies On The Exuberant ‘B. d’Or’

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Burna Boy and Wizkid are, at this point, probably indisputably the most prominent and recognizable Afro-fusion artists in the US. If you ask any music fan to name a Nigerian artist, the odds are pretty high that one of the two (or Davido) will be the first names mentioned. While Burna became the first Nigerian artist to headline Madison Square Garden, Wizkid’s “Essence” is widely regarded as one of the biggest songs of 2021. So, when the two decide to collaborate, it’s always special.

Picking up where they left off with their January collaboration “Ginger,” Burna and Wizkid reunite for the upbeat “B. d’Or,” which is named for the Ballon d’Or (“Golden Ball”) soccer trophy for extraordinary male players. Produced by P2J, the same name behind the dominant “Essence,” the track incorporates beatboxing within its propulsive, tropical sounds as the two artists compare themselves to past winners of the prestigious trophy like Lionel Messi, asserting that they’ve earned similar levels of recognition.

Wizkid and Burna are set to headline Afro Nation, the biggest afrobeats festival in the world, in Portugal next July along with Megan Thee Stallion, solidifying their claim as the biggest afrobeats artists in the world — and when there’s a trophy for that, you can bet they’ll be the ones taking it home.

Listen to “B. d’Or” above.

Burna Boy Becomes The First Nigerian Artist To Land A Headlining Show At Madison Square Garden

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Burna Boy 2021 Outside Lands festival
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Burna Boy’s accomplishments over the last few years have been hard to overlook. The Nigerian-born singer had one of the most popular afrobeats albums in 2019 with African Giant. The following year, he released his fifth album, Twice As Tall, which became his highest-charting release and earned him a 2021 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album. He’s also delivered impressive collaborations with the likes of Polo G, Wizkid, Headie One, Sia, and more. With just a few weeks left in the year, Burna Boy has already unveiled plans for what he’s doing next.

On April 28, Burna Boy will take over Madison Square Garden to headline his show “One Night In Space.” The upcoming performance will make him the first Nigerian artist to headline in the iconic stadium, which has enough seats to hold 20,789 people. Burna Boy celebrated the accomplishment in a post to Instagram. “From the Garden city , Port-Harcourt to the “GARDEN” New York!” he wrote. “If you’re crazy enough to think it, you’re crazy enough to do it!”

Tickets for Burna’s “One Night In Space” will be available starting with an artist presale that launches on Wednesday, December 15. General tickets for the show will be available two days later on December 17 at 12pm EST.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Burna Boy, Megan Thee Stallion, And Wizkid Will Headline Afro Nation 2022

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Afro Nation, the biggest afrobeats festival in the world, is returning in 2022 after a two-year hiatus with a star-studded lineup including Burna Boy, Megan Thee Stallion, and Wizkid. Taking place in Portugal on July 1-3, the festival took two years off as a result of the global COVID-19 population but is returning next year with what the organizers call a “landmark” iteration.

In addition to the above headliners, the festival is bringing more big names from multiple genres across the diaspora, including Beenie Man, Ckay, Diamond Platnumz, Koffee, Naira Marley, Rema, Tekno, Tems, Wande Coal, and more. While most of the names are obviously big in the afrobeats world, Megan Thee Stallion’s presence expands the purview of the festival to include an even broader perspective of the diaspora.

These are just the first wave, though, with more names to be announced in the future, so expect to see some more surprises down the line. With the festival taking place on the sand at Praia De Rocha Beach, there will certainly be more artists excited to join the fun. Pre-sale tickets will go on sale starting at 9 am on Friday, November 5, with general release tickets going on sale starting at noon.

You can find out more at the official website.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

New Music Friday: Wale, Meek Mill, Polo G, and More!

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Meek Mill

Heavy hitters in the game Meek Mill and Booka600 drop solo albums today while Lil Wayne and Rich the Kid dropped a joint album. Plus, more from Roddy Rich, Polo G, and Yo Gotti. New Music Friday This Friday, the streets are getting major drops for what we can expect will be a chart-topping week […]

Burna Boy And Polo G ‘Want It All’ In Their Cinematic Collaboration

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Afropop sensation Burna Boy is on a tear. Not only does he have an upcoming headlining set at the Hollywood Bowl — as the first African artist to ever do so — but he’s steadily been dropping a stream of new music that continues to buoy him past the success of his Grammy-winning album, Twice As Tall. Today’s latest actually features one of his most high-profile collaborations to date, with none other than Polo G joining him on the yearning “Want It All.”

In the video for the collaboration, the two artists take turns flexing about their recent accomplishments, recollecting how hard things used to be, and facing up to the pressure that their current success has created. Of course, Polo G is a rising Chicago rapper who is riding high off the success of his No. 1 album, Hall Of Fame, and just announced his own headlining tour in support of it.

Speaking on the collab, Burna said he’s had his eye on Polo for a minute, and was looking forward to working together. “I’ve been watching him for some time, and I just knew this had to get done, but it had to get done in the perfect way where the whole world gets to feel the reality of both of us,” he said. Check out the video above as both artists bask in the glow.

Burna Boy Is A Neighborhood Hero In His ‘Question’ Video

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Nigerian superstar Burna Boy is very much a local hero in his homeland — and you can see just how admired he is in his new video for “Question.” “Question” is the afro-fusion star’s second all-new single of 2021 after “Kilometre,” suggesting that he may already be working toward releasing a follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2020 album Twice As Tall, even though he’s only five months removed from dropping the video for its most recent single, “23.” Also appearing in the “Question” video is Nigerian record producer Don Jazzy, who contributes cameo appearances and ad-libbed vocals throughout.

Burna’s mission to export afro-fusion to the American mainstream will continue this year even without a new album as he heads out on tour, hitting major festivals like Governor’s Ball and Outside Lands, as well as headlining his first major concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Queen Naija, Umi, and Donavan’s Sound Club will join him there as openers, then he’ll be off to France, Spain, and Sweden for more festival dates. A previously planned Twice As Tall tour was unfortunately canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Watch Burna Boy’s “Question” video featuring Don Jazzy above.

Burna Boy is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

BIA’s Claims On Nicki Minaj’s Livestream Prompt Burna Boy To Issue A Correction

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Burna Boy is calling “cap” on BIA’s claims from her recent appearance on Nicki Minaj’s live stream to debut the “Whole Lotta Money” remix. During the live stream, Nicki asked BIA about Nigerian hitmakers Burna Boy, Davido, and Wizkid, only for BIA to admit that she doesn’t know what any of them look like. Over the weekend, Burna addressed the comment, tweeting that BIA must have been exaggerating because she’s been in his DMs since 2018.

“That babe wey nor know our face don dey my dms since 2018,” he wrote. However, BIA later responded to a fan’s tweet about the comments that she does know what Wizkid looks like, noting that she doesn’t need to know what any of the three Nigerian stars look like to know and appreciate their music.

Then, when the conversation was picked up by Instagram gossip pages, BIA was sure to reply to at least one, explaining that the “DM” Burna referred to was her tagging his song. “Burna, love your music,” she wrote. “Don’t be hurt I said Ion know what U look like. Your girl is beautiful anyway you shouldn’t care. Now, don’t make it seem like I slid on U in 2018 bc I tagged your song.”

She signed off by once again plugging her Nicki Minaj collaboration: “Now back to what’s important. Stream #WholeLottaMoneyRemix.”

Burna Boy Will Headline The Hollywood Bowl For The First Time On His 2021 Tour

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Burna Boy is picking up the celebration of his fifth album, Twice As Tall, where he left off when he triumphantly took home the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album (we here at Uproxx thought he’d been royally snubbed the previous year). Coasting on that Grammy glory, the Nigerian afro-fusion rapper revealed new dates on his Space Drift Arena tour that winds through lots of festivals through 2022 and takes him from North America to Europe.

Burna announced that he will also perform his first headlining show at the Hollywood Bowl, on Friday, October 8th, 2021. Tickets will be available for the public to purchase on Friday, June 18 at 12 p.m. local time.

Burna Boy will also play New York’s Governor’s Ball festival on Sunday, September 26, and San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival on Sunday, October 31.

Below is the full list of dates for Burna Boy’s Space Drift Arena tour. Purchase tickets on his website here.

07/02/2021 – 07/03/2021 — Sumol Summer Festival 2021 @ Ericeira, Portugal
08/20/2021 – 08/21/2021 — Blockfest 2021 @ Tampere, Finland
08/27/2021 — The O2 @ London, UK
09/11/2021 – 09/12/2021 — Parklife Festival 2021 @ Manchester, UK
09/24/2021 – 09/26/2021 — The Governors Ball Music Festival 2021 @ Queens, NY
10/08/2021 — Hollywood Bowl @ Hollywood, CA
10/29/2021 – 10/31/2021 — Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival 2021 @ San Francisco, CA
11/10/2021 — Accorhotels Arena @ Paris, France
11/20/2021 — Arkéa Arena @ Floirac, France
11/21/2021 — Zénith Nantes Métropole @ Nantes, France
06/02/2022 – 06/03/2022 — Primavera Sound Festival Weekend 2 2022 @ Barcelona, Spain
08/11/2022 – 08/13/2022 — Way Out West Festival 2022 @ Gothenburg, Sweden

Burna Boy is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.