Burna Boy’s career so far would make an exciting highlight reel. He’s been nominated for three Grammy Awards and he has won one. He’s sold out several arena shows across Europe and the Americas. He’s thrilled fans at numerous theater shows. He has won major awards. Been out of the venue for one. Walked out of one, and thrilled award stages.
But his latest show at Madison Square Garden, New York, could be the crowning moment of his career. When Davido and Wizkid had gotten their respective Sony Records deals, Burna’s career was on the back burner, as he struggled with controversies. But the return of his mum to his management team coincided with another healthy run, championed by great brand identity.
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Before said show, he has sold out Nigeria’s first arena show of this era at Hollywood Bowl, where he sold out 17,000 tickets. After that, he performed different arena shows in Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Ireland and more. The days when Burna Boy grinded hard at club shows and theaters, while some of his colleagues got theaters are now being heavily rewarded.
First off, Burna Boy consistency helped him to hone his stagecraft, as a part of his overall artistry. He has gone from being an energetic performer who could sing with a band, to a superb showman, who syncs with a full orchestra, improvises on stage, plays with his vocals and smiles all through hectic schedules.
When Burna Boy sent an attendee out of his show in 2019, many of us criticized him. But the effort he puts into his craft was why he sent that attendee out. The same thought process is he reacts bombastically to any arguments that anybody in his generation might be better than him.
While he’s the most talented in his generation, arguments of greatness still belong to Baba Bolu for his consistently high levels over the years. But that’s not a slight on Burna Boy’s greatness, whose arc might make a better story than anybody else’s in his generation. His greatness will also be written in blood, brail, words and sung by kids across the world.
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Before we go ahead, let’s put some context to what Madison Square Garden is. This is one of the most iconic centers in the world. It is used for professional ice hockey and basketball, as well as boxing, concerts, ice shows, circuses, professional wrestling and other forms of sports and entertainment.
Pollstar Pro reports that as of 2016, MSG is also the second-busiest music arena in the world in terms of ticket sales. Total Sports also reports that including two major renovations, its total construction cost was approximately $1.1 billion, and it has been ranked as one of the 10 most expensive stadium venues ever built.
For context, Wrestlemania editions are held at MSG. When an Afrobeats artist, who belongs to a secondary genre in America, sells out the arena, you know what it means.
Burna Boy’s show
When Burna Boy opened his Madison Square Garden show with ‘Level Up,’ with Yossou N’dour, complete with the roar from his audience, top quality sound and electrifying back up from his choir and orchestra, it was apparent that something special was in the offing.
Throughout the three-hour show, Burna Boy more than satisfied his audience, with not just an impressive setlist of hit records, he also improvised with some of those high-energy records, while wearing a beaming smile. This was his moment and he wasn’t going to be denied.
Promoted by Osits Ugeh-led Duke Concept, the show was backed by great aesthetics as Ronami Ogulu totally aced her brother’s style yet again.
A lot of Nigerians have called the show the greatest or most iconic in Afrobeats’ recent history. This wasn’t just the energetic performance of D’Banj or the elite performances of Brymo or the smaller shows of the great Femi Kuti.
Femi Kuti remains Nigeria’s greatest performer due to his track record of excellence, but Burna Boy took to a major stage and delivered a riveting performance with zero flaws. It shows that Burna’s consistency at great performances has finally paid off with his biggest moment yet.
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Nobody gets here by accident. This is the result of consistency, insistence of excellence and consistent and possibly grueling rehearsals. This show will become a marker in time.
Already, there is a ripple effect on Burna Boy’s peers, who now employ a band and actually make an effort to deliver great performances. They deserve some plaudits for finally listening to their fans’ pleas to live up to their billing as global superstars with their performances. But they still need to think of performances as a core part of their schedule.
They must also be obsessed with rehearsals.
Right now, Burna Boy is set to be a performing artist for the rest of his life. And he’s not done delivering iconic performances.
