Diddy dragged for wanting to 'reconnect with the motherland' in Burna Boy collab

17 August 2020 - 14:00 By kyle zeeman
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Diddy wrote an open letter to Africa.
Diddy wrote an open letter to Africa.
Image: Prince Williams/Wireimage

US music superstar Diddy faced the Twitter firing squad at the weekend when he suggested that his collab with Burna Boy was a result of him praying to “connect with” and “build a bridge to the motherland”.

The star, who is a big friend of SA's DJ Black Coffee, took to social media on Saturday to write an open letter to Africa, explaining this was his first project with an African artist.

“I’ve been trying to connect to the motherland for a minute, but I never got a chance to do it properly. When I say properly, I mean in a soulful spiritual way.”

He said the Covid-19 pandemic helped him slow down for a minute, and that was when Nigerian muso Burna Boy approached him to work on his new project.

“He’s the first African artist I’ve been blessed to work with and he didn’t know this but at the time I was praying to God to bring something to me that would help to bring us all together through music.

“I think it’s so important we all make it our mission to build a bridge to the motherland. Let’s continue to uplift and build with our brothers and sisters. It’s what they fear the most. Strength in numbers,” he added.

While some applauded Diddy for joining forces with an African, many accused him of just trying to cash in on the popularity of content about the continent at the moment.

One of the more spicy clapbacks was from poet and musician Ntsiki Mazwai, who asked if Diddy wanted a “gold star”. 


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