19th April, 2024
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Marcel Lebleu, Director General West And Central African Bureau Global Affairs Canada, has appraised the growth and global expansion of Nigerian music and movie industries.
Nigerian Afrobeats singer Burna Boy was also mentioned, with the North American country’s Senate particularly commending Burna Boy’s success as a touring artiste.
Lebleu lauded the Grammy winner for selling out the iconic, The Bell Centre in Montreal back-to-back, becoming the first African to do so.
Lebleu said, “I don’t know if you know Burna Boy. He is an Afrobeats singer. He was in Montreal three weeks ago, sold out The Bell Centre twice. That’s about 35,000 people.
“He was also in Toronto. We don’t think about the culture industry a lot but this is an important industry. For example, Nollywood.”
Senator Peter Boehm, Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, added: “I was listening to Burna Boy the other night.”
Boehm also confirmed that he is a huge Burna Boy fan on his verified X handle after the video went viral.
He wrote, “Being tall, I continue to enjoy listening to @burnaboy ‘Twice as Tall’ (2020) on my playlist.”