Never Said You’re African and Not American – Burna Boy Reacts After Diaspora Comments Sparked African-American Backlash

Nigerian superstar Burna Boy sought to clear the air Sunday after comments he passed about the African-American diaspora sparked heavy backlash.

Burna Boy said African-Americans need to connect to their roots in Africa to have a better sense of their identity.

According to him, they cannot know where they’re going if they don’t know where they’re coming from.

Burna Boy passed these comments when asked why it’s important for the African diaspora to come back home.

Using African-Americans as an example, he said other ethnicities in America such as Italian-Americans or Asian-Americans have a better connection to their roots and hence do not face as many problems in America as African-Americans do.

Watch Burna Boy comment on the African-American diaspora below…

The comments did not sit well with many African-Americans and they completely excoriated Burna Boy on social media.

Early Sunday, he released a clarification of his comments, calling for unity amongst blacks globally.

“It’s sad to see that in 2023 there are still such black people who would prefer we stay divided and conquered. Maybe it’s my accent or something but I never said you are African and not American. I also did not say Africa is part of heaven,” Burna wrote.

“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,”

Despite his clarification, African-Americans generally said no, thank you – we want nothing to do with the sh*thole continent.

Check out Burna Boy’s explanation of his African-American diaspora comments below…

Burna Boy biography

Burna Boy was born Damini Ogulu in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, in 1991. He began making music at just ten years old when a fellow classmate at school gave him a copy of the production software FruityLoops.

Armed with these means, he began to create his own beats on an old computer. After he graduated, he moved to London to attend university, but he dropped out after two years and moved back to Nigeria.

In 2010, the 19-year-old Ogulu traveled to Nigeria’s southern coast, where a mutual acquaintance, producer LeriQ, had some studio space. This marked a period when he began to connect to the music of his native country, having spent most of his youth immersed in American acts like DMX.

He delved into the dancehall and reggae music his father listened to and explored the Afro-beat music preferred by his grandfather (who had also been Fela Kuti’s first manager). As a result of his new discoveries, Ogulu created a confluence of genres that would become his signature sound.

Burna Boy rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing “Like to Party”, the lead single from his debut studio album L.I.F.E (2013). In 2017, Burna Boy signed with Bad Habit/Atlantic Records in the United States and Warner Music Group internationally. His third studio album Outside (2018) marked his major-label debut.

In 2019, he won Best International Act at the 2019 BET Awards, and was announced as Apple Music Up Next artist that year

His fifth studio album, Twice as Tall won Best World Music Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. He won Best International Act at the 2021 BET Awards.

Source: Nigeriabombshell.com

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