In this piece, we take a look at the members of Burna Boy’s The Outsiders band that performed at the sold-out show at Madison Square Garden.
In a country where the art of live music and the actualisation of music bands have been relegated to the back burner of the industry, The Outsiders have come to not only rise above by making a name for themselves whenever they have a show in the country, but also by trailblazing in whatever international destination they perform at. The supporting band to Burna Boy, The Outsiders have been together touring cities and arenas all over the world and blowing minds with their coordinated vocal assistance and electrifying instrumentalisation for about 6 years. As if indeed they’ve continued to remain on the cusp of the outside, despite sharing the spotlight with the Burna Boy, not much is known about the band members themselves. So in this piece, we take a look at the members of Burna Boy’s The Outsiders band, examining the very cogs that have served to propel Burna Boy to his status as one of the greatest African performers of all time and take a look at the members that performed at the sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. Meet The Outsiders;
1. Who is Burna Boy’s drummer?
The man behind the master percussions of the band, Emmanuel Laj commands presence on the drum set to give unforgettable drum instrumentalisation to Burna Boy on his global takeover. The main drummer of The Outsiders band, Laj has been on the road with Burna Boy and the band for 6 years.
2. Who is Burna Boy’s backup vocalist?
Burna Boy’s background vocalist of 6 years, Christina Matovu’s voice is the electrifying backup we hear at Burna Boy’s shows and even on records. A Ugandan gospel singer, Matovu leads the other vocalists that make up Burna Boy’s set and has stolen the show a couple of times with her vocals and even dance moves.
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3. Who is Burna Boy’s DJ?
A key element to a great show is a DJ that has an understanding of the artiste’s brand and body language to be the master of the audio playback. While Burna Boy is well-known for his captivating live performances, the megastar undoubtedly needs a DJ to handle his playback while on tour and this is where Spaceship Billy comes in.
4. Who is Burna Boy’s guitarist?
The guitar master on The Outsiders band, Otis B has been touring cities with Burna Boy for about 4 years, swaying arenas with his skills on the bass guitar and synthesizer.
5. Who is Burna Boy’s pianist?
Maestros don’t get any more literal than Burna Boy’s keyboardist, the instrumentalist who is behind the sweet piano riffs we hear whenever Burna Boy is on tour. Michael plays first keys which means he’s the main keyboardist on the band. Interestingly for him, his favourite song to play is Burna Boy’s Dangote.
6. Piano; second keys
The wheels to greatness can only turn to their destination when all the cogs are in motion and for Burna Boy’s The Outsiders, an essential finish to the harmonious instrumentalisation we hear is the piano, either as first or second keys, which is the backup. For this, Jolaade Aderibigbe is the man for the job.
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7. Guitarist
15 years ago, guitarist, Gaetan Judd had told his brother that he’d perform at the iconic Madison Square Garden, and on the 28th of March, he had indeed done that and at a sold-out show, as he gave guitar support for Burna Boy and his band, The Outsiders.
8. Front of house engineer
While the glory of a brilliant performance mostly goes to Burna Boy, there are a lot of moving parts being excellently put in place right in front of the audience by members of The Outsiders. One major player is Toladehin a sound engineer present at shows with his mixer. The first-class front of house engineer, Toladehin is in total control of the sound heard by the audience through the venue’s main speakers.
9. Monitoring engineer
Another important piece of Burna Boy’s live shows that might go unnoticed to the untrained eye or ear is the role of the monitoring engineer. For Duriel Mensah, as the man in charge of the monitor engineering of Burna Boy’s shows, this means he is responsible for the sound Burna Boy listens to during the live shows, b; lending multiple sound sources on the go to get the wheels turning smoothly.
10. Saxophone; lead
One thing about Burna Boy’s music, he knows how to get a good saxophone run in, creating the need for great sax support at his live shows which is taken up by Folahan Olaniyan as the lead saxophonist who has very much become a rockstar at live shows due to his proficiency and flair.
11. Saxophone; tenor
Live shows have several elements that come together like different colours and pieces to make a beautiful collage and where the saxophone is concerned, Jeremiah is the man in charge of the tenor saxophone, giving additional harmony to the instrumentalisation.
12. Trumpet
A prime wind instrument, Luis Gonzalez works his magic on the trumpet, at times taking the lead to give the live shows an unforgettable edge.
13. The drummers
At Burna Boy’s shows, the transitions are always a major highlight for the showgoers and the online watchers even. His Fela Kuti inspired ‘Awa o keere ninu aye yii’ transition has in fact become famous and an integral part of this performance are the talking drummers that lead that arc, drumming while the singers vocalise. These talking drummers are Moses Olukayode, Paul Goumou and they work with an Omele drummer which is a set of drum beaten with a distinctive curved stick. The Omele drum is handled by Gabriel Olukolu.
14. Who are Burna Boy’s drumline drummers?
Other than the talking drum transition, Burna Boy’s shows also come with a drumline transition, highlighting his Pan-African brand in the most colourful way. The drumline consists of three drummers namely Elijah Bareck, Demilade Adeleye and Jedidiah Boafo.
15. The choir
While Christina Matovu vocalising is one that has garnered several fans, she’s not the only vocalist in the band and The Outsiders come with a full choir that comprises of Linda Adesanya, Evelyn Nnabuife, Dawn Morton-Young, Deborah Adefioye, Evelyn Van-Beest, Temilade Kadri, Du-Wayne Hinds and Miyah McEachron.
16. Backline technician
With a band the size of The Outsiders, coordination and setup would undoubtedly be a big deal and for this, Jay-Matthew Olanipekun comes in, travelling with the band to set up their guitars, drums, keyboards, and any other instruments or band gear being used.
