Last week Friday, Burna Boy brought his African Giant tour to Berlin. This was Burna’s only concert on mainland Europe, bypassing every other major European City he came to the continent’s capital. With this being his only show, the black diaspora came from all over to see him; Munich, Bonn, Paris, Switzerland to name a few cities.

Unsurprisingly, the African Giant sold out Columbiahalle. Inside the venue felt it was going to burst; first with excitement and anticipation from us in the audience and frankly because it felt like it was at capacity, the venue was a sauna.  Finally Burna emerged, draped in a luminous red jacket, he shuffles onto the stage serenading us with African Giant. Onlooking the crowd, he stared and shook his head in disbelief, seemingly not wanting the moment to end and to never forget it ‘It’s my first time here (in Berlin) and if they told me it was going to be this way, I wouldn’t have believed them. But I appreciate you guys, I really do’. The screams of the crowd momentarily overpower the band as they transition us into Pull Up. And despite the distance, Burna surprised us with Jorja to accompany him as he performed Gum Body.

Photography by Emmanuel Whajah, Emzy Production Films

It’s without a doubt that Burna Boy is a brilliant performer. His energy, artistic direction and ability to engage with his audience is formidable. But what made Burna Boy in Berlin that much better was how much fun he had. He smiled throughout the show, illuminating the room with his grills and often broke into dance breaks. You can tell he’s a rockstar who loves to have fun on stage. Burna was sure to reiterate the political statements from his latest release. Halfway through the show, he let the interlude in Another Story ring in the audience and forced us to roommate upon them for a while ‘Wherever you are from,  please, learn your history and define your story’.

Burna and his incredible band brought his eclectic catalogue to life, whether it was the pulsating baseline on Sekkle Down, the salsa chords used during Anybody’s second verse or the arrangement for Gbese, it was incredible to listen to.

My two main takeaways from the concert were 1) Burna Boy is a rockstar and indeed the African Giant 2) It doesn’t matter where you go, the diaspora is lit.