@BurnaBoy Was A No Show, But The Show Went On For #MajorLeagueGardens

Over the weekend, music lovers descended upon FNB Stadium grounds for the Major League Gardens Picnic Social. After five years in operation, the Major League Gardens events are a social staple. This time around, things were different in that the event was on a Sunday, instead of their traditional Saturday setup. The previous day was Back To The City, and these two instances could be considered to have impacted attendance, however that would only be speculation. 

Nevertheless, even with the crowd not being as large the usual turnout, as many event-goers described, the energy was still there. Production wise, Major League did a great job of ensuring mobility and ease of access. Security knew where to send people to find various places, and their hyper-visible presence was much appreciated. This is especially so in light of the fact that South Africans can still distinctly remember the grim events that took place after the Global Citizen Festival of 2018. For makeup lovers, there was no need to worry about looks because NYX Cosmetics was in attendance to keep everyone beat! And the crowd was beautiful if we can say so ourselves. 

The essence of the social is premised in people enjoying good music in the company of friends, with cooler boxes, camp chairs, hookah pipes, and everything else that makes a great "chillas." Seeing guests with their group setup only positively reflects the nature of the function further. By six in the evening, the crowd was in fuller swing as YoungstaCPT took the stage. He has a way of requiring crowd engagement without actually having to ask for it. Before the release of his album 3T, THINGS TAKE TIME folks could argue that his popularity was strongest in Cape Town. An ill-founded argument, but an argument to consider nonetheless. He performed songs like "Yasis," "YVR," and of course he had to freestyle. To date, I've encountered three Youngsta freestyles at events and I have never heard a repeated line. 

It wouldn't be a @YoungstaCpt set without a Freestyle!!!#SmirnoffMajorLeague pic.twitter.com/G5KqyBvFMQ

— SlikourOnLife (@slikouron) April 28, 2019

After AyandaMVP took folks to Feels-ville with her set, Kwesta was the next big act to take the stage. If you've seen Kwesta perform in the past, this was a more laidback set in comparison to some of his other more dynamic stage performances. Looking like a hip-hop Pink Panther, Tshego also took the stage in a pink satin and faux fur looking number. The sound system may have been to blame, however, the rapper seemed to be overpowered by the backtrack more than his vocals could be heard during his set. At the same time, Tshego's set took on a sweet twist when he had Gemini Major out for some of the tracks that they've worked on together. From this, William (better known as Willestilios) of Champagne69 took the stage to perform "Smoke" with Gemini. During the entire set, DJ Wobbly's work on the decks shined through. 

A few surprise appearances were that of Manu World Star and Moonchild Sanelly. Catching up with the pop star after his set, Manu believes he's going to drop a brilliant project when his album debuts. He was tight-lipped on details, but we're following that story closely. As for Miss Sanelly, the "Walk Ye Phara" musician performed one song but effectively got the crowd moving in less than a few seconds of taking the stage. In true Moonchild fashion, she jumped off the stage to get closer to the crowd, however, this time around she couldn't get into the crowd. Instead, she passed her mic around and got her fans to help her with the lyrics here and there. Dressed in a striped skintight number and kicks, Moonchild gave a stellar performance. Granted, she may have landed a little oddly on her knee, but that never stopped her for showing out for her fellow musical counterparts throughout the night. 

Frank Casino was another crowd favorite! Before the man completed his opening track, fans were screaming "we want the whole thing." Dressed in a durag, hoodie, and jeans, standing before fire pyrotechnic aids, Frank Casino finally gave the people what they wanted and the crowd went wild for it.

.@FrankCasino_ is owning his set at Major League Gardens.
Long before he started the song, the crowd was screaming for "the whole thing!" pic.twitter.com/EHIk4lmQgA

— SlikourOnLife (@slikouron) April 28, 2019

By this point, the crowd was in full swing. Nobody cared that it was cold, the music was amazing. Nadia Nakai, however, must have felt the fire from within because she came ready to perform in a beaded leotard. She entertained the crowd nicely and had her fans in all of their good spirits. Next up, Abhuti Fill Up took the stage and came out quite explosively with "Tito Mboweni." The man is a superstar, to say the least, and gave a great performance. 

. @casspernyovest came in hot with "Tito Mboweni"#SmirnoffMajorLeague pic.twitter.com/RJ6zRgKTa9

— SlikourOnLife (@slikouron) April 28, 2019

After his set, Black Motion took to the stage to perform as well. As a standard, they performed very well, however by the time they took to the stage, it was around 11 PM. People were anticipating Burna Boy's attendance, and with the twins not having made an appearance at any point throughout the night, only exacerbated concerns. Eventually, Sjava took the stage and to his credit, he performed beautifully, even without his usual band set up. He made himself just like everyone else when he requested that he pyrotechnics not be used during his set as they made him a bit nervous, and to be honest, the only special effect that brought the most impact to his set was the confetti that fell from the sky as he performed. 

Unfortunately, as Sjava began to exit the stage, a member of his team made him aware that he was the last performer. This came as a surprise as Riky Rick was still slated to perform. Sjava wished the crowd well and departed. From this point, security began to usher guests out, however, they did so with little grace nor understanding. The time was fast approaching midnight and Major League had yet to make an appearance. Meanwhile, backstage, Riky Rick was present and ready to entertain his crowd with a collection of his hits. The one artist whose location is still a mystery is Burna Boy. 

What we do know is that Burna never landed in South Africa, however, nobody has confirmed why that is the situation. His face was used on the marketing of this event consistently and for the public not to be told that he would no longer be in attendance is poor crisis management and disrespectful to loyal fans. For Burna, this is beyond a terrible look for his brand as people stayed in the cold in the hopes that'd perform. For Major League, not wishing their guests off at minimum was bad branding and PR. 

Today, at 8:11 AM, Major League released a statement about why Burna Boy was not in attendance. For their response on the matter, read below. 

OFFICIAL STATEMENT regarding Major League Gardens ( @TheGardensSA ): pic.twitter.com/OL8SFnAkJb

— #MLG28thApril (@MAJORLEAGUEDJZ) April 30, 2019