Burna is the biggest Nigerian artist of 2018 off the back of having the hottest song in the year and to close out what has been the best year of his over six years career, Burna announced his debut headline Lagos concert for his teeming fans.
The event which took place at the Convention centre of the Eko Hotel and Suites on Wednesday, December 26, 2018 however suffered in more than a little from a lengthy delay in kick-off.
When it did however get going, there were opening performances from a number of rising acts like Soft, Attitude, King Perryy, PrettyBoy DO, Airboy, L.A.X, Kida Kudz, Oxlade and the rap duo, Show Dem Camp who brought on stage the likes of Funbi, BOJ and Poe during their set.
There were more performances from the likes of DRB Lasgidi and Nissi with the hosts on the night, Jimmie and Shody and DJ Consequence also doing their best to keep the crowd going.
But the longer the night went on, the weary the crowd started to become as in one voice, they began to demand for the one who they all gathered to see to hit the stage.
Despite the appearance of ace On Air Personality, Olisa Adibua to announce his arrival, Burna was still a no-show with a section of the crowd chanting tired boos. But at almost 2.30am, to the cry of 'Burna, Burna, Burna', dressed in a royal blue jacket with matching pants, Burna appeared on stage alongside his live band to the sound of 'Heaven's Gate.'
''I really planned a big entrance, but it's Nigeria, they f***ed up'', he explained as he apologized to the packed out crowd for his lengthy delay.
Burna proceeded to run through a number of songs from his ''Outside'' album from 'Devil in California', 'Sekkle down' and 'Giddem' and barely had he started his set when a fan beat the security barriers to jump on stage and hug him in awe and reverence.
That was the type of love that the man from Port-Harcourt now enjoyed and he was determined to give all those who gathered a memorable event, ''I'm not even gonna lie to you, I am a bit overwhelmed, can't believe you all came out to see me...'' he admitted.
Then almost immediately, Burna began to perform the breakout single, 'Baba Nla' bringing out Larry Gaaga, D'banj and 2Baba on stage and at that moment, all his sins were forgiven as the crowd screamed in excitement to one of the best performances on the night.
An interlude immediately followed in form of a short movie [what was initially planned to lead to his entrance on stage], showing Burna Boy as Narcos, capturing his ''Life On The Outside'' tours across several cities, him getting kidnapped, a plane crash and his arrival on stage via a Spaceship.
Burna reappeared for his second set together with Dammy Krane singing 'Comment Tu T'appelle'. Then he ran through his next set of songs from 'PH City Vibration', 'Rock Your Body' and the newly released 'Killin Dem' with Zanku king, Zlatan, who had the audience doing the Zanku dance.
The performances were well synched, energetic and riveting with the crowd standing on their seats, singing aloud and truly blown away by Burna's artistry and stagecraft.
Wande Coal joined Burna for 'Amorawa' while DJ Spinall also made an appearance to 'Serious', there were more songs to thrill the crowd from, 'Hallelujah' and 'Check and Balance.'
His third set featured songs like 'Don Gorgon', 'Yawa Dey' and more guest appearances from Duncan Mighty and Mayorkun, who was joined on stage by the DMW crew led by Davido as they performed 'Mind.'
As the light shone brightly on a new day, Burna's closing performances included his recent hit singles from 'Gbona' with Wizkid making a surprise appearance giving the crowd snippets of 'Ojuelegba' and 'Soco.'
There was still plenty time for Timaya and Patoranking to take to the stage to show support while Burna closed the concert with 'On The Low', 'Soke' and his biggest song yet, 'Ye' which he performed before a light of phone torches and loud voices.
What Burna Live suffered from in shoddy organization and delayed start, it made up for in stellar performances, elite showmanship and captivating sets delivering a night of live electrifying and truly spectacular homecoming of the Don Gorgon.
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