Afrobeats star Burna Boy has issued a warning to his colleagues, urging them not to be swayed by social media polls and comparisons often pushed by Nigerian fans online.
The 33-year-old made his stance clear in a post on his Instagram Story on Tuesday, where he stressed that online hype rarely translates to real-world success.
“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,” he wrote.
Burna Boy also highlighted the difference in streaming revenue, noting that streams from the UK and US are far more valuable than those from Nigeria.
He suggested that having the number one song on a Nigerian platform isn’t something to boast about.
Instead, he advised artistes to raise their standards and do business internationally.
The singer’s comments echo similar sentiments he expressed ahead of his 2023 album I Told Them, where he controversially claimed that Afrobeats lacks substance during an interview with Zane Lowe.
Burna Boy has also faced backlash in the past for saying that “nobody paved the way” for him, a statement that drew criticism from veteran Nigerian artistes who accused him of downplaying their contributions to the industry’s growth.
