Afropunk organisers announced on Friday that Nigerian superstar Burna Boy will no longer be part of this year's Afropunk Joburg, this festive season.
"Following a joint decision by Afropunk and Burna Boy, we regret to announce that Burna Boy will no longer be part of the festival’s Joburg 2019 edition at Constitution Hill from 30 to 31 December.
"We're dedicated to working with Burna Boy and his team for his return to South Africa when the climate is right. We are deeply committed to providing music lovers and fans a safe space for all to express themselves.
"We are grateful to South Africa, our community, and to the many wonderful artists who will be with us on the 30th and 31st of December, and to the friends and colleagues that have made AFROPUNK Joburg 2019 possible," read the statement.
Hey SA fam: After a joint discussion with Burna Boy’s team, we are announcing that he will no longer be part of Joburg’s 2019 lineup. We’ve agreed that now isn’t the right time for him to come. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused to our community. pic.twitter.com/SdCvYeCpkt
— AFROPUNK (@afropunk) December 20, 2019
This is not the first time that Burna Boy cancels his performance in South Africa. Just a few weeks ago the Nigerian star withdrew from from the Africans Unite Concert, that was due to take place in Pretoria on November 23. The Africa Unite concert has since been cancelled.
The decision to cancel the Africans Unite Concert came after the call from the Tshwane Entertainment Collective to boycott the Africans Unite concert in Tshwane.
Burna Boy also got involved in an ugly twar with AKA, where Burna Boy threatened the rapper and told him to beef up his security the next time he visits Nigeria.
The drama unfolded in a series of tweets in September when Burna Boy urged black foreigner nationals living in South Africa to defend and protect themselves against xenophobic attacks.
This came after xenophobic attacks in certain parts of the country took place.
Afropunk 2019 headliners include Solange, Migule, Masego, Goldlink, Busiswa, Sho Madjozi, Urban Village, Sjava, Zoe Modida, Blinky Bill, Morena Leraba, among others.
The music and lifestyle festival takes place at the Constitution Hill, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, on Monday, December 31, and Tuesday, December 31.
For more information and ticket sales, please visit Afropunk website.