Burna Boy made history over the weekend when he became the first African artist to headline a stadium show in the UK. A sold-out crowd of 60,000 fans screamed the Grammy award-winner’s Afrobeats lyrics back to him at the London Stadium.
And he didn’t disappoint with his two-hour set – bringing out famous friends like Stormzy and Dave on a giant merry-go-round to perform alongside him. Afrobeats – a mix of African and Western influences – has seen a massive rise in popularity over recent years thanks to the likes of Burna Boy and Wizkid.
Fans danced in the aisles, creating a carnival-like atmosphere as he bounced around the stage in a bright orange jumpsuit.
“I loved seeing how multi-racial the crowd was, united by the power of Burna Boy’s music. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” he tells Newsbeat.
“It’s something the greatest performers of all time like Beyoncé and Michael Jackson have been able to achieve. And now Burna Boy’s done it.”
As well as Stormzy and Dave, Burna Boy also brought out big names like J Hus and Jamaican vocalist Popcaan as part of the star-studded gig.
But Kojo says the fact he had no warm-up acts shows how far Afrobeats has come.
“When you go for concerts, usually there’s a co-headliner, Burna Boy and his band didn’t need any of that,” he says.
“To know he has that much star power is something we’ve never seen before in African music.”
Burna Boy will also take Afrobeats to the football this weekend, when he performs at the Champions League final in Istanbul.
But of these sold-out events are a stark contrast to the star’s humble beginnings.
Kojo says he went to a Burna Boy show in 2014 in Ghana when there were only about 14 people in the audience.
“He didn’t actually come out that night, maybe because of the few people. I never thought he would get here so soon.
“Afrobeats is the hottest genre in the world right now and the world needed a new sound after Covid.”
Selling out a UK stadium is seen as a massive moment for the genre, which has been appearing on charts across the world and taking over TikTok dance challenges.
In 2019, Afrobeats artists collectively spent 86 weeks in the Official Chart Top 40, which was up from 24 weeks in 2017.
And since then it’s been embraced by some of the world’s biggest stars – with Beyoncé and Drake featuring artists on their albums.
TBaze is an Afrobeats musician in the UK who feels inspired by Burna Boy’s success and the rise of his sound.
“It’s inspiring to see how far we’ve come as a genre. It’s Afrobeats to the world, it’s becoming the sound that makes people happy,” he says.
“It’s not even just about the artist, musicians or fans. It’s for the people.
“The crowd represents a diverse community and it’s cross-cultural. We’re learning about different cultures through this experience.”
Looking ahead to the future of the genre, TBaze says the genre is growing because of social media.
“A lot of artists have to think about how the music relates to things like TikTok dance challenges. It could be Instagram reels or freestyle challenges.
“That accessibility is essential and I think about that when I’m writing a song
“In future, I’d imagine people will be fusing Afrobeats into their genres even more.”
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