During NBA All-Star Game 2023 On Sunday, February 19, 24 of the league’s biggest stars will take center stage. However, during the event’s intermission or halftime, three of the biggest acts in current music will take the stage. The 2023 show will feature a trio of artists: Burna Boy, Tems and Rema.
As reported by ESPN and Andscape’s Marc J. Spears, this year’s Afrobeats-themed All-Star performance is part of the NBA’s goal to make Africa a key focus during All-Star Weekend.
Who are Burna Boy, Tems and Rema? Below, more information on the artists who will be performing during his break NBA All-Star Game 2023.
Who is Burna Boy?
Burna Boy is a Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter and record producer hailing from Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
After growing up and starting his education in Nigeria, Burna Boy moved to London to continue his studies, officially starting his music career in 2010 after returning home.
Burna Boy has released two mixtapes, six studio albums and two LPs. The album of 2020 “twice as tall” won the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.
The latest from Burna Boy, “Love, Damini”includes the single “last last”, which peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Top 100.
Who is Themes?
Tems is a Grammy Award winning singer born in Lagos, Nigeria.
Since starting his professional music career in 2018, Tems has quickly become a household name, largely thanks to his role in Wizkid’s single titled “Substance”which reached number 9 on the Billboard Top 100 and number 3 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts.
Tems released two LPs, the first being “For broken ears”which was released in September 2020. The seven-song record was entirely and largely written by Tems and included the singles: “Compensation” and “Free mind.”
Tems’ voice in the song Higher it was sampling in “wait for” by Future, which also featured Drake. “Wait For You” won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Rap Melodic Performance.
Congratulations @temsbaby for winning Best Rap Melodic Performance #gram with @Drake & @1future pic.twitter.com/NeVQ9y4lKx
— rcarecords (@RCARecords) February 6, 2023
Who is Rhema?
The youngest of the three artists, Rema is a rapper and singer who was born in Benin City, Nigeria.
Rema, 22, has been active since 2018 and released her self-titled EP in 2019. Since then, Rema has released two more EPs and a compilation album. His debut studio album, “Rave & Roses”was released in March 2022 and features the hit single “Calm down.”
Rema has amassed nearly 3 million subscribers on YouTube and has featured music on the FIFA21 soundtrack.
What is Afrobeats?
Not to be confused with the Afrobeat genre (without the s), Afrobeats has its roots in West Africa and Diaspora.
This style includes various sounds such as music from Nigeria, Ghana and the UK. While the genres that can be described as falling under the Afrobeats umbrella have been around for decades, they have seen a surge in global popularity in recent years.
Less than a year ago, Billboard partnered with Afro Nation to launch the first US music chart Afrobeats, which launched on March 29, 2022.
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
