Burna Boy Talks Pioneering Afro-fusion, Winning Grammy & More

Grammy winning Nigerian musician Burna Boy recently performed at a packed Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Ahead of his performance, Burna checked in at the Home Grown Radio show with DJ Hem and Chuck Dizzle to discuss what he loves about LA, being exposed to multiple cultures early in life, being a pioneer of the Afro-fusion genre, winning a Grammy for Best World Music Album, which celebrity he’d take on in a boxing fight, and his stance on the use and legalization of Indian hemp (marijuana, igbo, weed, kush) in Nigeria.

During the conversation, Burna who just dropped a recent single with American rapper Polo G, hinted at more music on the way, also revealing there’s a clean version of his collab with G where he says, “Back in 09, I was feeling so low…”

He also touched on being one of the innovators of Afro-fusion, a new musical genre he describes as a combination of different Afrobeats.

“My genre of music that I started is called Afro-Fusion; which is like a fusion of Afrobeats with… I feel like Afro-Fusion was only able to come out of me because I experienced all these sounds and genres,” said Burna.

On his stand on the use and legality of indian hemp, Burna suggested a lot about it’s criminalization has got to do with hypocrisy.

“It’s not a zero tolerance. It’s like everybody does it, but no one wants to be the one that is seen with it. It’s just kind of hypocritical out there. Everybody smokes weed.”

“It’s like some dumb shit, bro. You know those old shit when they talk about it frying your brains. They try to make it seem like if you smoke it, you will go mad,” the singer said.

“Right now, everybody is relaxed, everybody does it, and everybody knows that. It’s just a topic no one wants to talk about.

“No one wants to talk about it; everybody is cool. Nobody wants to make it a thing.”

Asked if people get arrested for possession of marijuana in Nigeria, the 30-year-old singer was quick to point out that the law is not implemented uniformly.

“If you can please the person that is stopping you at a time,” he added, suggesting that those who are willing to offer something in return to be let go are often not prosecuted for using Indian hemp.

Check out Burna Boy’s entire interview on the Home Grown Radio below: