Burna Boy Turned Down Dubai Show Due to Strict Weed Laws
by Jeroslyn JoVonn
November 6, 2023
Dubai won’t be seeing Burna Boy anytime soon due to the city’s strict cannabis laws.
Burna Boy didn’t get his stage name for no reason. The Afro Beats star is all about burning down the ganja and will bypass a multimillion-dollar gig for the love of smoking marijuana.
The “Last Last” singer recently admitted to turning down a $5 million offer to perform in Dubai due to the United Arab Emirates city having strict laws against cannabis use. Burna Boy took to Instagram on Tuesday, Oct. 31, to share a freestyle he filmed with his live band ahead of kicking off his “I Told Them Tour.”
In the video, Burna is practicing with his live band, The Outsiders, while spitting a freestyle about his superstar lifestyle.
“Just now I turned down Dubai money, 5 million dollar na small thing cos me I no dey like to dey go where dem no go gree allow me smoke igbo,” he sings.
As his name suggests, Burna Boy is a proud cannabis connoisseur who has even combatted his own country’s strict laws against marijuana when launching his own line of cannabis dubbed BRKFAST in 2022.
“It’s not a zero-tolerance. It’s like everybody does it, but nobody wants to be the one that is seen with it,” Burna said, as captured by Vibe. “It’s just kind of hypocritical out there. Everybody smokes weed.”
Dubai is known for its strict laws and rules for locals and tourists. Among them include dressing a certain way, not swearing in public or playing loud music, no public intoxication, or public displays of affection between spouses. With Dubai being a Muslim city, tourists aren’t allowed to eat in public during Ramadan.
Over the summer, a Houston woman by the name of Tierra Young Allen was jailed in Dubai for screaming in public. Allen reportedly got into a heated exchange with a car rental company and was arrested after raising her voice at the attendant.
Despite the strict laws, many tourists flock to UAE cities every year, with Dubai receiving over 14 million tourists in 2022, Time Out Dubai reports. Unfortunately, Dubai won’t be entertaining locals with a Burna Boy show anytime soon.