Following his recent remarks regarding the origins of African-Americans, the superstar of Nigerian afrobeats was disparaged.
Damini Ogulu, better known by his stage name Burna Boy, is a heavyweight singer, songwriter, and performer from Nigeria. He has come under fire for a recent comment he made about the origins of black Americans.
The African giant, who recently performed as the headline act at the popular NBA All-Star Halftime Show in Utah and has been announced as the headline act for the UEFA Champions League final on June 10, 2023, in Istanbul, got on the bad side of some African Americans after saying that it was important for them to leave the diaspora and go home.
Burna Boy was asked in the aforementioned interview why he thought it was important for black Americans to travel to Africa. He responded that doing so would help them understand their identities and how to function.
The singer, who was born in the Philippines, supported his argument by citing other races, such as Chinese-Americans and Italian-Americans, who do not face some of the issues African-Americans do in the United States because they are aware of their roots and exactly what they stand for.
See Reactions Below:
“Why is it important that the diaspora come home?”
Burna Boy: pic.twitter.com/YUP5W5BYIG
β π¬ @πΌπ»π²π·πΌπ―πΉπ²πππ―πΌπ (@OneJoblessBoy) March 17, 2023
The interview, which got the attention of other black Americans, including Tariq Nasheed, a social commentator who has once gone head-to-head with Nigerian acts like Ycee over a topic revolving around how African immigration was affecting black Americans in the United States, seemed to have offended the racial group as they took to social media to bash Burna Boy.
Saying this while rocking the same crisp hairline, the same locs that black men rock in Atlanta & other cities in the south and a black American beard style (with a line up) is PEAK hypocrisy. https://t.co/sWYNq6xB9f
β πππ€π€ π§π½ββοΈ (@jessmcmxci) March 18, 2023
Saying this while rocking the same crisp hairline, the same locs that black men rock in Atlanta & other cities in the south and a black American beard style (with a line up) is PEAK hypocrisy. https://t.co/sWYNq6xB9f
β πππ€π€ π§π½ββοΈ (@jessmcmxci) March 18, 2023
GATDAMN this shit is getting old… π https://t.co/dC4PTW2BVw
β BigBucksNoWhammies πΊπ²βοΈ #BlackAmerican #B1 (@alan3920) March 18, 2023
Nigerians like Burna Boy are fleeing their own homeland at such a rate that they’ve taken to using the term “japa” to describe it, yet have the audacity to try and wag a cake soaped out finger at Foundational Black Americans about who we are & what we allegedly don’t know? FOH https://t.co/PBh1v0J03H
β Tr1ll Texas (@TexasFBA4Ever) March 18, 2023
Taking to his Instagram on Sunday, March 19, 2023, Burna Boy clarified his initial comment, making it known that he didn’t say African-Americans are not Americans or do not deserve what they want from America, but was merely saying they have Africa too, who loves them, and the only way to conquer the world is if black people all over the world unite. Part of the post read:
I never said you are African and not American. I also did not say Africa is part of Heaven. You deserve all the Land and reparations you want from America and I’m 100% in support of thatβ¦
