By Pascal Ibe

Claim

An X user, DAMIADENUGA claimed a Nigerian music star, BurnaBoy was paid $15 million to perform for one hour in Brazil

Verdict

This claim is UNPROVEN. Burna Boy indeed performed at a Brazilian town festival. However, there’s no strong evidence that the $15m was paid for his one performance. Also, the screenshot of the CNN news of the event attached to the claim was AI-generated.

Full Text

Burna Boy — the Nigerian songwriter, singer, and rapper who was born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu — once thought he’d be content writing the sleek, self-assured party tunes that first drew fans to his mixtapes in the early 2010s.

Burna Boy, 33, has assembled an international following since he released his 2013 debut album, “L.I.F.E.: Leaving an Impact for Eternity.” He sold out Wembley SSE Arena in London last year, and songs from his 2019 album, “African Giant,” have drawn tens of millions of streams and views.

In 2019, Burna Boy won Best International Act at the BET Awards and was named an Apple Music Up Next artist. That same year, he released his fourth studio album, African Giant, which won Album of the Year at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards and was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards

He is a globally recognized and exceptionally popular Afrobeats artist, marked by significant international chart success, a Grammy Award win, and widespread cultural influence as an ambassador for African identity.

An X user, @DAMIADENUGA has recently claimed that BurnaBoy was paid $15m to perform for one hour in Brazil.

The X user published a photo of CNN news of the event with a caption that reads, “Burna Boy was paid $15 million to perform for just one hour in Brazil 🇧🇷

This has generated over 46k views with many people asking if this was true. This made FACTWATCH Nigeria run a fact check on the claim.

Verification

Burna Boy indeed delivered a highly anticipated performance in Brazil at the Townline Festival in São Paulo on 6 September.

The Nigerian Afro-fusion superstar co-headlined the event alongside major international artists like Travis Scott and Don Toliver, as well as local Brazilian rapper Filipe R.

However, the screenshot of the CNN news of the event attached to the claim was AI-generated.

Illuminarty, an AI detection tool confirmed this.

This is an indicator that the claim lacks concrete evidence and may be fabricated.

Also, no publication from a credible news organization in Nigeria or internationally corroborated this claim.

Conclusion

It cannot be confirmed by any reputable source that BurnaBoy was paid $15m to perform for one hour at an event in Brazil.