NBA
Burna Boy, Jewel, Post Malone, Rema, Tems & Vin Diesel Among Entertainers Headlining 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend
–Utah Resident and Global Superstar Post Malone to Perform Prior to Tip-Off; Vin Diesel to Welcome Fans to the 72nd NBA All-Star Game –
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced that three Nigerian superstars – GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer Burna Boy, 2023 GRAMMY Award-winning singer and Oscar-nominated singer and producer Tems and rapper and singer Rema – will headline the NBA All-Star Game 2023 halftime show with an Afrobeats-themed performance.
After the performance, the NBA family will honor LeBron James for becoming the league’s all-time scoring leader. The 72nd NBA All-Star Game will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City and air on TNT.
Prior to tip-off, global superstar Post Malone will perform a medley of hits following the first-ever in-arena NBA All-Star Draft (7:30 p.m. ET), and Vin Diesel, star of the upcoming “Fast X” movie, will welcome fans to the evening.
Payson, Utah, native and GRAMMY Award-nominated artist Jewel will sing the U.S. national anthem and JUNO Award-winning and platinum-selling artist Jully Black will sing the Canadian national anthem on Sunday for the NBA All-Star Game.
Utah singing group The Bonner Family will perform the U.S. national anthem before the 2023 Jordan Rising Stars, which will be played on Friday, Feb. 17 at 9 p.m. ET on TNT. As previously announced, the group will also perform the U.S. national anthem and the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice,” at the NBA HBCU Classic presented by AT&T, which will tip off on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. ET on TNT, ESPN2 and NBA TV.
Get to know the entertainers:
Bonner Family
The Bonner Family is a musical singing group that promotes love and healing through inspirational song. The faith based group has made an impact on the music industry as performers on Broadway, Grammy award-winning songwriters, and vocal coaches to platinum selling recording artists. Thanks to the support of sponsors and partnership with LiftUpVoices.org, The Bonner Family gives inspiring and educational performances that teaches black history through music to underserved communities.
Burna Boy
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, professionally known as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian born songwriter, singer, recording & performing artiste. He was born on 2nd of July, 1991 in Port Harcourt to the family of Samuel & Bose Ogulu ( His manager), his maternal grandfather, Benson Idonije, was legendary Fela Kuti.’s first manager. He is the first child with two siblings Ronami and Nissi. Damini rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing “Like to Party”, the lead single from his debut studio album, L.I.F.E (2013). L.I.F.E, was released on 12th August 2013 under Aristokrat records . In August 2013, L.I.F.E peaked at number seven on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. L.I.F.E album was nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. In February 2015, he founded his record label Spaceship Entertainment . Burna Boy released his second studio album, “On a Spaceship”, on 25th November 2015. His seven-track debut extended play, Redemption, was released in September 2016. Its lead single, “Pree Me”, debuted on Noisey.
Jewel
Jewel went from a girl who grew up with no running water on an Alaskan homestead, to a homeless teenager in San Diego, to an award winning, multi-platinum recording artist who released one of the best-selling debuts of all time. Through her career Jewel has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and has earned 26 nominations for such awards as the GRAMMYs, American Music Awards, MTV Awards, VH1 Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and Country Music Awards, winning eight times. Jewel has been featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, Rolling Stone, has performed on Saturday Night Live, at the Super Bowl and the NBA Finals, for the Pope and the President of the United States. Her music has spanned a wide-range of genres with top hits in Folk, Pop, Club, Country, Standards, Children’s and Holiday music. Jewel’s new studio album Freewheelin’ Woman, via her own Words Matter Media is out now.
Jullly Black
Jully Black is a true Canadian Icon. Named as one of ‘The 25 Greatest Canadian Singers Ever’, (CBC Music) she has been dubbed ‘Canada’s Queen of R&B Soul’ by fans and industry leaders alike. As a platinum selling recording artist, her music career has yielded multiple singles reaching the Top 10 pop, R&B and dance music charts. She has taken home Juno and Gemini Awards, earned innumerable industry accolades, was hand selected to sing for the Queen of England and inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2021 (PILLARS OF EXCELLENCE – Arts & Entertainment).
Post Malone
A 5x diamond-certified GRAMMY® Award-nominated phenomenon, Dallas, TX artist Post Malone regularly rewrites history, blurs boundaries, and incites internet-breaking conversation with every move. Emerging in 2015 with a genre-less brew that inspired a movement, he delivered the diamond-selling “Congratulations” [feat. Quavo], achieved back-to-back #1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200, received countless multi-Platinum certifications around the world, and smashed one record after another with his Hot 100-topping hits. In 2022, he pushed boundaries again with his fourth full-length offering, Twelve Carat Toothache, which marked his fourth consecutive Top 5 bow on the Top 200. It also paved the way for his biggest headliner to date, The Twelve Carat Toothache Tour, taking over arenas for multiple dates in major cities throughout the year. He even scored “the highest-certified single in RIAA history” with the 17x-platinum “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse)” [feat. Swae Lee], netting the biggest single of his generation. In 2023, he garnered a GRAMMY® Award nod in the category of “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance” for “I Like You (A Happier Song)” [with Doja Cat], marking his tenth career nomination in six years.
Rema
Afrorave prodigy, Rema was introduced to the world in March 2019, with the release of his self-titled debut EP, and the global hits “Corny”, “Dumebi” and “Iron Man” which was featured on Barack Obama’s Summer Playlist. Rema has fast become one of the most exciting stars in global music for his unique genre-bending and avant-garde style. His debut EP will be remembered for defining a new era for African pop.
Tems
Tems (born Temilade Openiyi) is a Grammy Award winning, multi-platinum selling, Academy Award nominated Nigerian singer, songwriter, and self-taught producer. One of music’s fastest rising stars, her recent collaborations include Beyoncé, Drake, Future, Wizkid, Justin Bieber, Khalid and Rihanna. Tems writes, arranges, and produces music with a genre-blending sound that fuses R&B with soul, pop, jazz and more in her own unique way. Her accolades are extensive; Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, the recipient of a Grammy Award, a BET Award, two NAACP Image Awards, two BET Awards and two Soul Train Music Awards.
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel is a prominent actor, producer and filmmaker who has been honored with both a Hands and Footprint Ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre, and a Star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. He is most widely known as Dominic Toretto in the Fast and Furious film series, Richard B. Riddick in the Chronicles of Riddick series, and Xander Cage in the xXx series as well as the voice of Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and Avengers: Infinity Wars. Most recently, Diesel, a native New Yorker, reprised his role as Dominic Toretto in the ninth installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise, which he starred in and produced. The record-breaking franchise was one of the biggest box office films of 2021. The eight installment had the largest international release of all time, grossing over $1.2 billion worldwide. He also wrote and directed the original short film Los Bandoleros, which tells the backstory of the characters and events in the franchise.
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