The Billboard cover star closed out the 2022 BBMAs.
Wearing a stylishly flayed black suit jacket and shorts, the Nigerian singer delivered his new single, the Toni Braxton-sampling “Last Last,” and the dub-flavoured, laid-back single “Kilometre” from 2021. The Grammy winner confidently strutted and danced around the stage, giving a high-energy, upbeat finish to the BBMAs.
Two days before his BBMAs performance, Burna Boy sat down with Billboard‘s Heran Mamo during the first-ever Billboard MusicCon in Las Vegas for a panel titled “The Explosion of Afro-Fusion.” Among other topics, he talked about first falling in love with the idea of performing while watching *NSYNC perform with Nelly at the 2002 Grammy Awards.
Now, he’s a touring juggernaut, becoming the first Nigerian artist to headline (and sell out) Madison Square Garden in April. “It’s like I’m better at [performing] than making music. And that says a lot because I’m really good at making music,” Burna Boy said in his Billboard cover story.
“You see how with Christ, there’s B.C. and A.D.? I feel like that’s how it is for me with performing. There’s going to be a ‘Before Burna Came’ and ‘After Burna’s Death’ time period in the performing arts world. That’s my legacy.”
Burna’s upcoming sixth album, Love, Damini, is set to come out on July 2 — not coincidentally, that’s the same day he turns 31. “I’m reflecting on everything — what I’m doing and what’s happening where I’m from. Where I’m from is a part of where I’m going,” he told Billboard of the album.
