South Africans have reignited their beef with Nigerian artist Burna Boy following his Grammy Award loss. Burna Boy lost Best World Music Album to Beninese singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo.
Before the announcement, his supporters had already started celebrating and vowing a lifetime of trolls to AKA and South Africans after his shows were cancelled in the country following his tweets on xenophobia in September last year.
“If Burna Boy wins a Grammy like this, we’re trolling AKA and SA until the next Grammy Awards,” said one fan in a deleted tweet.
Responding to the tweep, AKA said: “What you should have done is focus on the positive instead of thinking about me and my country. In any case, Burna is still a champion. We still consider him a winner.
“I never hated Burna Boy. All I did was stand up for my country. I think it’s time to move past this narrative. It’s tired. Like I said, even a nomination is a huge achievement.”
Also read: Artists object to Burna Boy performing in SA as AKA demands apology
His positive response, however, did not stop South Africans from celebrating Burna Boy’s loss and dragging Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema while at it using the hashtag #AKAwinanga.
Malema seemed to have wronged social media users and those who claimed to have voted for his party after sharing his opinion on Burna Boy’s scheduled performance in November last year.
While the artist trended at the time due to South Africans and Tshwane artists boycotting his scheduled, now cancelled, performance, Malema said no “mascot” would stop him from performing.
He said: “Looking forward to receiving and being entertained by my brother @burnaboy here at his home called South Africa. There’s no mascot that can stop him from performing, he’s one of our own and we will protect him. We must resolutely oppose regionalism led by political illiterates.”
Responding to the criticism, Malema said he would not be blackmailed by “bed-wetting” boys.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.