Patrick Doyle: Burna Boy hasn’t done anything to be called great

Patrick Doyle, the ace Nigerian actor, has argued that Burna Boy, the Afrofusion singer, has “not done anything to be described as great”. 

In a Facebook post, the actor said Burna Boy owes his greatness to “music pioneers like Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti, Majek Fashek, I.K. Dairo, who paved the way for his success”.

The movie star also urged the ‘I Told Them’ hitmaker and other artistes “to be humble and respectful of their diligent and truly pioneering predecessors”.

“The credit for the feats that appear to be puffing the likes of Burna Boy up have to be properly ascribed to the greats who cleared the thorny paths that have created pathways for his likes to walk through practically effortlessly,” he wrote.

“Burna Boy has not by himself done anything that can be remotely described as great. He and his peers are recipients of the labours of heroes past. They need to be humble and respectful of their diligent and truly pioneering predecessors.

“Great artistes like SunnyAde, Fela Anikulapo, Majek Fashek, I, k. Dairo and a galaxy of others who paved the way from the 60s, to the 2000s.

“Greatness and great feats don’t exist in a vacuum. Let us not contribute to the creation of an arrogant and obnoxious monster.”

Doyle, however, did not state why the self-proclaimed African Giant was singled out for reprimand.

Burna Boy rose to fame after releasing ‘Like to Party’, the lead single from his debut album ‘L.I.F.E’ (2013).

In 2021, the singer set a record in Nigeria after his fifth album ‘Twice As Tall (2020)’ won the ‘Best World Music Album’ category at the Grammys.

In a recent interview, Burna Boy argued that many Afrobeats artistes do not have real-life experience, hence why their “songs lack substances”.