Burnaboy's Underpants Performance At Felabration 2013 Is Unrealistic

While Burnaboy may be trying to make a name for himself in the booming Nigerian music scene (especially Afrobeats), he should be careful attempting to imitate a legend such as Fela Anikulapo Kuti, directly or indirectly, in an unrealistic or insane manner.

Burnaboy (born Damini Ogulu), is one of the privileged Nigerian music artists that performed on stage at the just concluded Felabration 2013 at the New Afrika Shrine; where Burnaboy felt the need to unknowingly shit on die-hard Fela fans by stripping down to his underpants in an attempt to imitate the legendary Fela Kutiwho never ever performed on stage in his underpants!  

Following Burnaboy's strange underwear performance at Felabration 2013, Nigerians are now doubting the authenticity of Burnaboy as a true Fela fan. This is because, a true follower of Fela's music, performances, political activities, etc., should know very well that Fela never performed on stage in his underpants only while at home during rehearsal. So where did Burna get the idea Fela performs on stage in underpants? 

There are no videos on the internet showing Fela performing on stage in underpants; however, there are videos of Fela in underpants rehearsing with his band. 

Below are some of the anonymous commentaries made by Nigerians in reaction to Burnaboy's false portrayal of Fela's image on stage at Felabration 2013: 

"We all know that these days some misguided artist are all looking for one weird reason or the other to clutch to and incubate the headlines. Fela was legendary and iconic and anti-establishment, fighting oppression and its crony from day one till death. You dont have his persona, his individualism, his motivation, his talent, his raison d'etre for all his public actions, yet u want to court his style. Fail F9! Having said that there were some things fela did that should not be copied. full stop"  

"Burna's love for Fela is fake. Fela never performed on stage with his underpants. I blv he (burna) would know this considering his a "huge" follower of Fela." 

"I won't say what I don't know. My grandpa was with Fela from the days of Afrika '70 to Egypt '80. Yes, he did sit for interviews in his underpants, he did rehearsals in his underpants as well. But Fela Kuti NEVER perfrmed on stage in his underpants. In his defense, the reason why he wore underpants at home is simply because it's his house, and he'd like to feel comfortable at home. I choose not to disclose my identity because I don't want this to go past NJO comments. But blv when I say Burna don't give a **** about Fela. He's just walking in the shadows of Fela because he knows what Fela means to Nigerians. All he thinks of Fela is a weed smoker and weird man" 

"Burna is Unique anywayz.... but one thing to be noted here, Fela never performed on stage with his pants, he only wore pants during rehersals at his home or answerin an interview but all dat happend in his home, he never for ones wore pants on stage.. WHO WANNA PROVE ME WRONG?" 
 
Those who have not been following or paying close attention to the life of Fela would likely assume the King of Afrobeat actually performs on stage in his underpants, which is a misguided perception. 

Below is a video showing Burnaboy performing on stage in 'pata' at this year's Felabration. The video afterwards is that of Fela Kuti rehearsing at home in his underwear. How could anyone confuse such as stage performance? 

CLIK LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aYlQX9E4TE

No doubt, Burnaboy is a talented artist and his talent can be easily perceived in the quality of music he dishes out each time he hits the studio. But Burna is not FELA, and should not be trying to imitate him - unrealistically. 

It is left for Burnaboy to choose between staying true to himself while mastering his craft and making a name for himself or imitate other artists who have already made a name for themselves. This post is a constructive criticism in reaction to Burnaboy's underpants performance at Felabration 2013. 

-The Nigeria Music Network Team