The stars were out at Sundayâs NBA All-Star game in Salt Lake City, Utah â from basketball legends LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, to Nigerian musical titans Burna Boy, Tems, and Rema.
The trio performed an Afrobeats-packed halftime show, a sign that the genreâs global rise is continuing into 2023.
Grammy-winning Burna Boy was first to perform, telling the crowd, âIâm about to take you on a journey through Africa without even going on a plane.â
Read more: Burna Boy has a complicated relationship with Africa
For Tems, it caps off a whirlwind month, as she recently made history by being the first Nigerian artist to get an Oscar nomination, for her work on Rihannaâs âLift Me Upâ â a song from âBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever.â She also won her first Grammy on February 5 for her collaboration with Drake and Future on âWait For U.â
Meanwhile, musician, rapper, and singer Rema is enjoying chart-topping success with his hit âCalm Down,â featuring Selena Gomez.
âNigeria is a football-dominated, soccer-dominated country,â Burna Boy said in a video posted on Monday by the NBA All-Star Twitter account. âBut at the same time, we still have some of the best basketball players from here.â
âThis is a dream,â he added in another clip. âThis is amazing. I had dreams of playing in the NBA as a kid, but you know, I got to perform at the NBA [All-Star game], so I guess I made it either way.â
Look through the gallery at the top of the page for images from the performances.