American rapper and producer Sean Combs, otherwise known as Puff Daddy or Diddy to his fans, shared an open letter to Africa on Twitter.
47-year-old Diddy wrote the letter after producing Nigerian singer and songwriter Burna Boy’s fifth studio album.
Burna Boy became the first African artist to win a BET Award two years in a row in June when he won Best International Act.
Diddy started his letter by saying Africa had been “heavy” on his mind, and that he had been trying to connect with the continent for a while.
“Dear Africa, you have been heavy on my mind and my heart … 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,” Diddy tweeted.
He ended the letter by urging everyone to “to build a bridge to the motherland”.
While the news of another African artist being recognised internationally is great, some saw this as Diddy’s way of trying to cash in on the popularity of African artists.
Poet Ntsiki Mazwai responded to Diddy’s letter asking him if he wanted some kind of award for working with an African artist.
“You want a gold star?” she tweeted.
“So Diddy is using the now “trendy” Africa that Americans have ignored until Black Panther made it hip to be African just to jump intro a trendy “African” sound to remain relevant…I will never trust a man who changes his name so many times,” said Twitter user, @MphoAbrams.
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