Burna Boy quenches Ugandans' thirst for West African music

There has not been a Nigerian performer even as remotely entertaining as singer Burna Boy.

The energy,  vocals,  atmosphere, the ‘sing-along's and multitudes of people chanting to his performance and  his magical performance_ all of it was worth the wait, and the queues (they braved) that snaked outside the Sheraton Hotel Kampala, where the show took place.

There was too much FOMO (slang for 'Fear Of Missing Out') during the drive to the show. Some even joked that Burna Boy's show was the reason there was too much heat in Kampala. And courtesy of that FOMO, everyone who attended wanted to tell. Social Media was abuzz with updates about each and every activity. The place was full to the brim by 8:00pm, yet a queue still amassed numbers outside. And the organizers, Kasana Events did a good job containing the overwhelming numbers.

 Burna Boy

Before he arrived on stage, Ugandan performers like Sheeba Karungi, Irene Ntale, John Black, Dj Roja and Slick Stuart among others, had entertained, and warmed the crowd for the climax.

He stepped on stage at around 11:30, and immediately started performing. First, it was his great vocals that caught everyone off guard. They did not imagine that with his style, Damini Ogulu stage name Burna Boy had it in him, to be so comfortable on a live music microphone. And you can blame that on the Mr Eazy and Tecno performances last year.

By the time he performed hit songs like Gbedu and On the Low, the crowd was on a height of ecstasy. They were chanting and singing along. They were jumping and dancing. Others just didn't know what to do with the feeling he gave them, so they just watched, amazed.

By the time he stepped off stage, he had given Ugandans something many West African world music artistes never give them. And their thirst for the Burna Boy Experience had been quenched.

Dynamic dj duo Slick Stuart and Roger performing