Nigerian pop star Burna Boy turned Zurich’s Hallenstadion into fusion cuisine on Wednesday evening. And impressed with its versatility.
Burna Boy can not only sing, he also has a lot of show talent.
“Shayooo!” resounds through the Hallenstadion, “shayooo!”, it resounds later in front of the hall and afterwards also through the Oerlikon train station. The long “shayooo!” finally even accompanies you on the S-Bahn back to the city center – and at some point to sleep. It is a word in the West African Yoruba language that means “to be happy”.
The 9,000 concertgoers learned it from Damini Ogulu aka Burna Boy – specifically from his latest hit, “Last Last”. And now they carry it out into the night, as a kind of “give-away” and “goodie”. Burna Boy is one of Africa’s biggest pop stars. Like no other, he succeeds in uniting various pop influences in a personal, unmistakable mixture that never tilts too far into the kitschy.
More than a hype
And that’s why this Burna Boy, whose short, intense Zurich show is heated up by both real and projected flames, hovers a few spheres above the sheer hype surrounding West African music and Nigerian Afrobeats. While others lose themselves in the trendy afro fusion, he can always put his recipe in a new context.
Whether the Nigerian musician is collaborating with Ed Sheeran or picking up the pace and producing something akin to techno; It doesn’t matter whether he starts a ballad or lets the saxophone contribute jazzy jazz: his songs always sound like Burna Boy.
He also demonstrates his versatility at his idiosyncratic Zurich concert. Sometimes a springy rhythm is in the foreground, sometimes melody and musicality. Again and again a six-man percussion troupe marches up and gives the band a helping hand, at least symbolically. And often Burna Boy begins or ends a song a cappella.
After half an hour, his concert suddenly sounds like a hypnotic dance music mix tape: starting with a remix of the smash hit “Jerusalema” by Master KG – we remember: the title was also in the Swiss single charts – the 31-year-old explores the technoid side of his repertoire in a medley. Shortly thereafter, Burna Boy means everyone present to light up the hall. However, songs like “On The Low” from his album “African Giant” are more reminiscent of intimate togetherness in front of an open fire than a big stadium party.
A good portion of American showmanship also finds its way into the evening’s dramaturgy: “Unfortunately, unfortunately, unfortunately I can’t stay all night,” he says, just before he ends the show with a number of long “shayoooo”. His concert lasted a highly efficient 75 minutes.
Champions League
Burna Boy is one of the most important stars of our time, his music is more contagious than almost anything. More pop is not possible. The rhythm gets in your limbs, the melodies in your ears, and the slogans land directly on your tongue: «shayoooo!» His importance is also evident on streaming portals such as Spotify, where 17 million fans listen to him every month. He shapes genres like Afro-Pop and Afro-Beats. But if he is currently appearing on hundreds of thousands of algorithmically determined annual best lists, this is mainly due to his very own charisma.
It is therefore surprising that the Zurich Hallenstadion was only two-thirds full on Wednesday evening. Perhaps the clever showman miscalculated something commercially. With tickets around 100 francs, he is now trying to play in the Champions League in terms of price.