I’m certain my grandmother heard me screaming. All the way in Ziwa, Eldoret, she was likely sitting under a shade sifting maize when she heard the faint echoes of familiar screams which seemed to come from nowhere. She must have erroneously thought her ancestors were trying to tell her something. I’m sorry, gogo, the ancestors are still resting in peace. The culprit that stirred your old bones was me, and if I was trying to tell you anything, it was that I was thrilled.
I was at the 20th row of the Qudos Bank Arena experiencing a new feeling. My heart was outpacing a racehorse. Blood was gushing through my veins like a raging Sosiani river during a generous rainy season. I was sweating in places I dare not mention. My body was automatically moving in sync to the music by the DJ as if I had merged with it – as if I were it. My ears had grown accustomed to the piercing screams and shouts of elation by the thousands of revelers around me, most of them half-drunk on substances, others drunk on pure joy. I was saving my voice for that one special moment that had drawn me there.
Burna Boy’s Sydney Concert
My journey to the arena began on Instagram. As I was scrolling through stories of friends and strangers, I happened upon a poster announcing a concert in Sydney. The location was Qudos Bank Arena, Olympic Park. The date was Saturday the 18th. The time was 8 p.m. The performer was Burna Boy. And I had to be there.
I have loved and admired Burna Boy as an artiste since his early days in the music industry when he released Like To Party. He was still relatively unknown then, but as I listened to and enjoyed his music, I carried a strong conviction that his art would become a global sensation.
The authenticity in his music is palpable – every lyric and every beat carries his Nigerian roots. His genius is incontestable. He blends Afrobeats, dancehall and soul like a seasoned chef who knows exactly how much pepper to sprinkle in the soup before the pot starts talking back. His business acumen is admirable. He has penetrated every corner of the globe and sold himself – through merit, consistency and hard work – as one of the best and most successful African music exports of our time.
My friends and I have been inhaling his latest album, No Sign of Weakness, since it’s release, and his Sydney concert was an opportunity we were unwilling to miss. For me, it was not just the desire for a good time that impelled me to go. It was an earnest thirst for a musical experience with a beloved African artiste, one that would speak to my African heritage through the lens of modern lyrical expression.
The queues were long and the security checks longer, but the delay offered me occasion to observe the diversity of fans that had gathered at the park. Every gender, skin colour and age (except minors, obviously); people of all beliefs, different faiths and different schools of thought were present. It was not surprising, since music has been known and used to bring together people from all walks of life, but it was definitely a testament to Burna Boy’s penetrating fame and the global appreciation of Afrobeats.
The Experience
As we danced and vibed to the DJs set, which was the prelude to the main act, the lights suddenly went out and the world came to a sudden standstill. For a moment, we were all frozen in place, holding our breaths, silent as the dawn. It was not a power malfunction. It was a sign heralding his coming. The air, thick with hungry anticipation, burst into a roar that shook the grounds so strongly that seismologists must have reported a 2.5 earthquake. This is when my grandmother heard me. This is also the reason I’m still sucking Strepsils lozenges.
Then, the stage lights came on and bathed the arena in gold. Burna Boy emerged from a cloud of smoke like an Old Testament prophet. The women around me went absolutely wild, and I could tell it was not just his music they loved. Hands waved in the air like flags on a windy day. The euphoric cheer broke into rhythmic chants of his name. He moved about the stage in his casual brown suit, dreadlocks bouncing with every step, feeding off the frenzy he had unleashed. His energy was raw and unfiltered – restless, electric and unpredictable. It wasn’t just an entrance. It was an eruption that birthed the soul of the evening. The night was officially ablaze.
We danced and sang in unison with our fists in the air like non-conformist revolutionists. Burna Boy zipped around the stage like he owned it – and he did – cranking up our energy into a non-stop whirlwind of adrenaline and delight. We were total strangers at the beginning of the concert, but by the time he was performing Last Last we were dancing like lifelong friends.
The night ended too soon, but it changed my understanding of live music. As Angelina escorted us home, I mused over Burna Boy’s transporting performance and the current music force taking the world by storm – Afrobeats.
Afrobeats: Putting African Culture and Creativity On the Map
Burna Boy is not the only Afrobeats artiste dominating global charts. Rema, Tems, Ayra Starr, Omah Lay, Davido, Wizkid and others too many to list are forces to be reckoned with. They fill arenas around the world and international artistes line up to work with them. Their names must be mentioned where Afrobeats is concerned. And while a few have had Grammy nominations and awards, many have been considered where prestigious recognition is due.
The impact of Afrobeats around the world is too big to ignore. In fashion, African street style is on the global runway. Ankara prints, dashikis, cornrows, beaded jewellery, and contemporary African designers feature in major fashion events, magazines and music videos.
In dance, Afrobeats has the world in a chokehold with its popular dance moves, which often go viral on TikTok and Instagram. A teenager in Stockholm dances shaku shaku. A party lover in Tokyo is trying zanku. Another in New York is doing the gwara gwara as we speak.
In music, artistes like Selena Gomez, Chris Brown, Beyonce, and others, have collaborated with Afrobeats stars or incorporated Afro-inspired rhythms to their songs, giving the genre a well-deserved seat at the mainstream table.
And in cultural identity, Afrobeats has given the African diaspora a unifying sound. And it is the African diaspora that drives the Afrobeats wave into farther reaches of the planet.
Afrobeats and other popular African sounds – like South Africa’s Amapiano, Tanzania’s Bongo Flava, Congo’s Rumba, Soukous and Ndombolo etc. – are not simply works of music. They are cultural Trojan horses. Through our music we can spread unity, peace, joy, and share our evolution, our rebellion, our uniqueness, the unbeatable African spirit, and our ancestral heritage.
