Award-winning Afrobeats star Burna Boy is scheduled to headline a concert in South Africa, just two months after he vowed never to return to the country following a spate of xenophobic attacks there.
The Nigerian superstar, who was among the celebrities who spoke out against September’s violence targeting Nigerians and others in South Africa, is expected to take to the stage in Capetown on November 23.
At the height of the tensions, Burna Boy condemned the violence and urged the South African and Nigerian governments to come together and put an end to the pain and hostility blighting the country.
“I have not set foot in SA since 2017. And I will NOT EVER go to South Africa again for any reason until the SOUTH AFRICAN government wakes the f**k up and really performs a miracle because I don’t know how they can even possibly fix this,” he wrote on Twitter.
The upcoming concert, billed as Africa Unite, is being organized by Nigeria’s Play Network and will include performances from artists including Kwesta, Jidenna, and Busiswa.
Burna Boy announced Saturday that he will donate part of the proceeds from the concert to victims of the attacks.
“The first of many! Part of the proceeds will be donated to the victims of Xenophobic attacks by me! I really hope we can all keep contributing in our own way to make the world a better and safer place for each other. # Africansunite, it’s bigger than all of us,” he tweeted.
At the end of the video, another narrator describes how Nigeria was acquired by Britain primarily as a business transaction.
“The British government paid 865,000 pounds, a huge amount in 1900. So let’s establish a simple truth: The British didn’t travel halfway across the world just to spread democracy. Nigeria started off as a business deal for them between a company and a government,” the narrator said.
It has been a stellar year for Burna Boy, who released his album “African Giant” in July.
He has risen in prominence as the Afrobeats sound has gained global recognition. He is also scheduled to headline the Afropunk festival in Johannesburg in December. (CNN)
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