It was an astounding night for Burna Boy as he became the first Nigerian artiste to win the Best International Act award at the BET Awards twice in a row. He is also the first artiste ever to win the award consecutively.
Burna Boy won the award for Best International Act for the second consecutive time. This time though, thanks to the beauty of technology, he was able to receive the award himself. He also won the award in 2019 but was unable to accept it. His mother, Bose Ogulu, received the award on his behalf.
He received the award saying, “Thank you very much, BET. Second time and I appreciate it. I will like to use this opportunity to say that sometime around 1835, there was admission to turn the nation of Africa into a dominated nation. Now is the time to return and go back to the royalty that we were because, in order for black lives to matter, Africa must matter.”
It is no surprise as the amount of international recognition that Burna Boy receives has increased this past year. Earlier this year at the Grammys, his album “African Giant” was nominated for Best World Album but he lost out to Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo.
Another African winner is Zimbabwean artiste Sha Sha who took home the BET Viewer’s Choice: Best New International Act. Overall, it was a good night for African music, receiving the recognition that it deserves. We hope to see more wins this year.
Check the full list of winners here