Burna Boy Knows He Is Losing His Grip On His Nigerian Audience

What happens when a conceited celebrity starts to lose his hold on the spotlight? Admittedly, this is a tricky question to answer but Burna Boy offers us some insight. Two days ago, he stirred online controversy when he posted a series of Instagram Story posts effectively undermining  the impact of performing well on music charts in  Nigeria . Frankly, this phrasing undersells it. The posts find him addressing his peers in a paternalistic tone and trotting out his now-characteristic condescension of all things Nigeria (well, except Fela and whatever else serves to burnish his global reputation as a conscious, Pan-African musician). The first post reads: “Dear artists, Don’t let Twitter polls and “Naija social media fans” deceive you. They won’t fill up any stadium for you in any part of the world.”

The second one is more acerbic and finds him hinting at his actual grievances in more detail. He rightly points out that streams from the Nigerian audience bring in about ten times less revenue compared to streams from America and Europe. The post then closes with his characteristic dramatic flair: “Your song being number 1 on any streaming platform in Nigeria is not something to celebrate. Aim higher or do other businesses on the side. I type with love. #NoSignOfWeakness.” Expectedly his comments have generated a conversation on social media, although, this time the intensity of the debate pales in comparison to the aftermath of his previous disparaging rants. Such as in 2023 when just before he dropped I Told Them, he criticized Afrobeats artists—in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe—for lacking “substance.” The interview enraged fans, critics, and artists alike, who spent months condemning and debating the internal logic of his commentary. 

The tepid response to his rant this time, however, suggests that fans are desensitized to this type of rhetoric, which is usually an attempt at drumming up a conversation in anticipation of an imminent release. In recent months, Afrobeats artists have increasingly leaned into this strategy to promote their projects. We saw it with Wizkid, who viciously excoriated Davido in the months leading up to the release of his album. More recently, Ruger courted this type of controversy in anticipation of his now-released BlownBoy RU album, to little success by the way. He engaged in bluster, claiming to have the pen game in the industry and challenging dissenters to a faceoff. When that didn’t yield much attention. He changed course, cranking up the levers as he took shots at Joeboy,  who released his album on the same day. If there were any doubts about his motivations, he revealed the game when he was spotted embracing Joeboy and mouthing the words “All na promo”.

The more important takeaway from all of this however is that Burna Boy is aware of his waning influence in Nigeria. And for all the casual contempt he has expressed towards Nigeria over the years, he seems to be perturbed by this development. Earlier this year, Culture Custodian published an article that explored Burna Boy’s loss of momentum in Nigeria. Despite the heavy promotional campaign behind his last few singles and the cloud of controversy and constant appearances on blogs, which have kept him atop the public conversation, his songs have struggled to live up to his hectoring reputation on local charts. 

For context, his last single Update, which came complete with a music video, failed to peak atop the Apple Music Top 100 Nigeria chart, which is the low-hanging fruit as far as commercial success goes in this part of the world. Make no mistake, he’s still one of Afrobeats’ best-performing artists. He continues to rake in about 5 million daily streams on Spotify, which is by all metrics impressive. He’s also set to host a concert at the 80,000 capacity Stade De France on the 18th of April. His draw on the Nigerian market has however diminished. Which is somewhat ironic considering these days he’s trying his hardest to appeal to this market; public appearances at Lagos nightlife spots every other day; songs carefully crafted for Nigerian palettes; as well the slew of controversies he has stirred in the past few months. Faced with foundering prospects, despite his best efforts, Burna Boy appears resentful. And his latest polemic is simply the rambling of yet another petulant celebrity.