Burna Boy performs during the 2021 Governors Ball Music Festival at Citi Field on September 26, 2021 in New York City.
Taylor Hill/Getty Images for Governors BallGearing up for his Hollywood Bowl performance on Friday night (Oct. 8), Burna Boy is feeling blessed. Recovering from a late-night recording session in Los Angeles that dipped into the morning, the illustrious afro-fusion star caught up with Billboard ahead of the historic set.
“I'm feeling legendary," Burna says. "Coming from where I'm from and to be doing that in L.A., the capital of entertainment of the world, for me is legendary.”
The trail-blazing artist has gone coast-to-coast, gracing the stage at New York's Governors Ball last week and gearing up for a Halloween night performance at San Francisco's Outside Lands as a part of his ongoing Space Drift Arena Tour.
His latest single, "Want It All," alongside Chicago MC Polo G, marked a step into a new genre for the afro-fusion pioneer, something he says excites him. "It's about the generation, this is kind of an evolution from the past generation and it’s crazy to see," he says.
Both Polo G and Burna are coming off of wildly successful albums, Burna's Twice As Tall debuting at No. 1 on the World Albums chart and going on to win the Grammy for best global music album in 2021. The track melds the styles of the two worlds-apart artists into an inspiring trap anthem.
"Want It All" isn't the first time the Nigerian native has dipped into other genres. He's done a number of collaborations with UK artists on pop, R&B and rap tunes, as well as linking up with Jamaican dancehall artist Vybz Kartel. Now he's adding another genre to that list. During his interview with Billboard, Burna teases future Latin music collaborations with Colombian chart-toppers Maluma -- who he's worked with already -- and J Balvin, who he plans to work with in the near future. "I'm always trying to work on something new and find that thing I've never done," he says.
As for the new generation of afro-fusion artists taking the scene by storm, Burna is proud. "Same with Fela [Kuti] creating afro-beats, I created afro-fusion. It’s my biggest achievement in life," he says. "It’s always a blessing to see [the genre] get to where it's going right now, especially with the new generation."
Tickets to tonight's show are available for purchase on Ticketmaster.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
