You have to say, it's been coming. Burna Boy will no longer be performing in South Africa after Phambili Media and Play Network Africa confirmed that the Africans Unite concerts were OFF.
On Wednesday morning, social networks were rife with speculation that the Africans Unite concert would be cancelled today, as promoters caved in to the demands of the masses who wanted Burna Boy off the roster.
A statement which was sent to ZAlebs.com reads:
On Wednesday morning, social networks were rife with speculation that the Africans Unite concert would be cancelled today, as promoters caved in to the demands of the masses who wanted Burna Boy off the roster.
A statement which was sent to ZAlebs.com reads:
"Following extensive engagement with Burna Boy’s management team, Phambili Media and Play Network have decided to withdraw Burna Boy from the Africans Unite Concert. As a result, both legs of the concert which were set to take place on the 23rd of November 2019 at Hillcrest Quarry, Cape Town and 24th of November 2019 at Sun Arena, Pretoria have now been cancelled.
The decision to cancel the Africans Unite Concert comes after the call from the Tshwane Entertainment Collective to boycott the Africans Unite concert in Tshwane. With the increasing threats of violence from other unfortunate segments of the public and without any government intervention, Phambili Media and Play Network Africa were prompted to take the threats and warnings seriously, as the safety of all artists and attendees could not be guaranteed. We then decided to cancel the concert. The safety of all attendees, artists and crew comes first. "
The concert organisers also confirmed that although they are cancelled the show for everybody's safety, they still stood firm by their decision to include him as an artist on their original lineup. They bravely added,
" As one of the artists at the centre stage of the xenophobic attacks uproar, we saw fit to engage him to be a part of the Africans Unite campaign that aims to ultimately change the current negative narrative to that of solidarity and unity. It seems we have failed in this regard.
As organisers of the Africans Unite Concert, we continue to advocate for unity and peace. Moreover, we condemn any form of discrimination, violence or aggressive behaviour towards any person due to their gender or nationality."
The decision to drop him from the lineup had inspired a strong reaction on social media:
Of course this entire saga couldn't go public without AKA being dragged into it. An AKA inspired hashtag, #AKASezi, is currently trending at #1 on Twitter as his fans gloat about the latest developments.
Do you think this was the right move by all parties involved?
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Image Credit: Provided by PR Company