00:00I'm trying to, first of all, learn the lines in my home, Africa, you know, to a point where it's like we're all like United States of Africa.
00:13All right, Noni here for Essence News, and right now I am joined by Berna Boy.
00:17Thank you so much for coming down to Essence headquarters and hanging with us for a little bit.
00:21Thank you for having me.
00:22So you're coming off of the heels of winning Best International Act at the BET Awards.
00:27Congratulations for that.
00:29Thank you so much.
00:30Now, watching it, your mom made it seem like you were there, you were restless, like, where did you go, what happened?
00:35Yeah, I went to get a drink.
00:37Oh my goodness.
00:38Okay, so you didn't get to accept yourself, but she actually gave a message on your behalf.
00:45That every black person should please remember that you were Africans before you became anything else.
00:52Why is that such an important message for you?
00:54I'm trying to, first of all, learn the lines in my home, Africa.
00:58You know, to the point where it's like we're all like United States of Africa.
01:04That's why sometimes when people make the mistake and say Africa is a country and stuff, I don't even bother to correct them because that's what I wish it was.
01:12You know, because if it was that, then we probably would be the superpowers of the world, you know?
01:17Yeah.
01:18Yeah, because, like, really and Trudy, it's like, it's almost a divide and conquer thing.
01:24You know, so what we need now is to come together in every way possible, like, and all of us, not just inside.
01:30So, coming up with the BET Awards win, and you performed at Coachella, and then you got the call from the backbone, Miss Beyoncé, curating this Lion King soundtrack for The Gift.
01:42Tell me about how did that feel to be handpicked to be a part of this project?
01:47It feels great, man.
01:49It feels great.
01:50It always feels great to be a part of something great, you know?
01:53Tell us a little bit about your new album, African Giant.
01:56I wanted to just make a statement in a way, you know, to shine a light, you know, on us and what we do and who we are.
02:08So, American Radio has been embracing African artists, Davido, Wizkid, just hitting radio, including yourself, but they tend to call it Afrobeat, but you're more of an Afrofusion artist.
02:22Can you explain the difference?
02:24Afrobeat is for that, too.
02:27Afrobeat is like Afropop.
02:30So, for me, my one is Afrofusion, I call it, because I just try to infuse Afrobeat into everything else, into, you know, a lot of other cultural sounds.
02:42Why don't you break down African Giant?
02:46Like, what is an African Giant to you?
02:49An African Giant is any African who inspires other African.
02:53An African Giant is any African who has hopes of unity for Africa.
02:59or even his immediate surroundings.
03:02You know, an African Giant is somebody who does his best for his family.
03:07It was just a pillar of inspiration for African youth.
03:13So, your song on the Lion King soundtrack is a real favorite, and it's also the only solo song on it.
03:20Can you talk a little bit about the meaning behind the song?
03:22So, basically, the song is called Jarai.
03:25Yeah, that means, like, it's almost like, um, just know, better know what's going on in a way.
03:32So, it's like, from the perspective of, like, a father talking to a son.
03:36Mmm.
03:37You know, it's like, basically saying, um, you know, what to look out for, and, you know, like, how, um, uh, you should always be calm and reason things.
03:50It's just basically giving advice.
03:51Thank you so much for hitting up Black Girl Magic headquarters here at Essence.
03:55If you turn the camera around right now, we have a big crowd.
03:59We have a lot of Burning Boy fans in the house.
04:01So, thank you so much for stopping through.
04:03Thank you for having me, man.
04:04Bye.
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