Musician Burna Boy has stated that the only veteran artists in Nigerian music he respects are Timaya, D’banj, Wande Coal, Larry Gaaga, and 2Baba.
The self-described “African Giant” claims that these are the only legends who have influenced his life and profession as a musician.
Burna Boy made this statement in response to seasoned producer ID Cabasa’s recent appeal for Nigerian singers to show reverence for icons.
During a recent Instagram live session with fans, he said: “The only OGs who have impacted my life; number one, Timaya, because he is the one who showed me that achieving stardom was possible. I’m going to respect him for the rest of my life.
“D’banj also supported me back then. He paid for ‘Wan Da Mo’ video. These are two people I don’t joke with. It’s not like n*ggas don’t have respect, no, n*ggas have just been through a lot and we only remember the people we saw in the dark times. People like Larry Gaaga. He stood by me back then. So these are people I will respect for the rest of my life.
“When you’re talking about OGs, as far as I’m concerned, those names are the only ones in addition to 2Face based on musicality and the fact that he did a feature with me when he didn’t have to back in the day. These are OGs to me. Any other person isn’t an OG to me. ID Cabasa, you can meet Olamide and you can be an OG to him [laughs]. We’ve all been through stuff differently and we all see life differently.
“I can’t forget Wande Coal, too. At a point in time, we were so close.”