One wouldn't ordinarily think much of a video of Burna Boy landing at a foreign airport and being escorted through said airport by a bodyguard.
I mean after all, the self-proclaimed African Giant is booked and busy across the world.
But on Friday, when footage of the “Ye” hitmaker arriving at a Zimbabwean airport started making rounds on social media, his name quickly shot up the trends list in, erm, South Africa.
"African Giant in the building 🚀🚀🚀🚀🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼 @burnaboy @djjasonleroux #BURNABOY𓃵 #Zimbabwe have a good one guys🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼 https://t.co/rtPlAw9XUX," shared @TbassDJ.
African Giant in the building 🚀🚀🚀🚀🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼 @burnaboy @djjasonleroux #BURNABOY𓃵 #Zimbabwe have a good one guys🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼 pic.twitter.com/rtPlAw9XUX
Why is that, you ask? Well, the local public has a love-hate relationship with the Nigerian afrobeats star. Back in 2019, Burna Boy vowed to never return to SA due to the xenophobic attacks on foreign African nationals.
“I have not set foot in SA since 2017,” he Tweeted. “And I will NOT EVER go to South Africa again for any reason until the SOUTH AFRICAN government wakes the fuck up and really performs A miracle because I don’t know how they can even possibly fix this.”
He added, “Lemme also say that there are some South Africans who are Amazing, Progressive AFRICAN people and I will forever Love them like I Love myself. But they are not many at all.”
These comments angered many and even led to a back and forth between Burna and SA rapper AKA, who during that time pushed back against Burna’s Tweets by sharing screenshots of the threats he’d received from Nigerian Tweeps before demandimh an apology from Burna.
SA Twitter hasn’t forgotten Burna's sharp words and many have been pointing to the fact that he became hugely popular here in SA due to his collaborations with the likes of AKA and Da LES long before he became a global star.
“In South Africa we know Burna Boy because of AKA. And those are straight facts!!”
In South Africa we know Burna Boy because of AKA
— ChrisExcel (@ChrisExcel102) June 3, 2022
And those are straight facts!!
Incidentally, on Thursday night at Saint Champagne Bar & Lounge, AKA recorded himself singing along to Burna Boy’s 2018 hit single, “Gbona”, on his Instagram Stories, which seems to indicate that there's no bad blood anymore.
Burna’s upcoming album “Love, Damini” is due for release in the coming weeks. With his most recent album, "Twice As Tall" earning him his first ever Grammy Award last year, the anticipation could not be higher.