Burna Boy has expressed his disregard for streaming and download data. He was reacting to comments on the success of his single, “Ye”.
The artist told Beat FM London that he hardly ever looked at the numbers. He said after his viral show in London, United Kingdom.
“I don’t care about numbers, I don’t even want to talk about numbers,” Burna Boy said.
While streaming data is an important yardstick in measuring the success of a project, Burna Boy insisted that the impact of the music is more important.
“Why don’t you care more about music? Why do you care about numbers, do you listen to numbers, do you get any feelings when you look at numbers?”
Burna Boy reiterated his position again that he cared less about numbers.
“Why do you have to measure with numbers, you should measure with things like how many lives I have touched or how many songs that have inspired people… that is what you should measure with, not numbers.”
On Afrobeat
Meanwhile, Burna Boy has downplayed the so-called contributions of the UK to the rise of the Afrobeat genre.
The artist said the UK did not contribute anything to the rise of Afrobeat, as it is known.
“The thing is really sentimental because my family plays a role. When you say Afrobeat, I know what Afrobeat is, it is not what you are hearing today, that’s not Afrobeat. Afrobeat is one person and one person only and that is Fela Anikulapo Kuti, every other person does Afro-pop or whatever but not Afrobeat.”
“The Uk has no input in Afrobeat whatsoever. Let me make myself very clear the UK has no influence in the creation or naming of anything that has to do with Afrobeat roots or beginnings. The UK is a place that accepted Afrobeat and Afrobeat inspired a lot of the culture.”