I like this description of Burna’s artistry or whatever the word is (although I must admit I can’t attest to the pentatonic African modes):
For the most part, Burna Boy hasn’t diluted his African heritage to reach his global audience. Instead, he has placed an unmistakably African stamp on music drawn from all around Africa and from across the African diaspora. He has a calm, husky, resolute voice that exemplifies the West African cultural virtue of coolness: poise and control transcending any commotion. His melodic sense is rooted in pentatonic African modes but unconstrained by them, and he has a stable of producers who deliver some of the most innovative rhythm tracks in 21st-century pop — usually working alongside Burna Boy in his studio, he said. He sings, most often, in a pidgin of English and Yoruba, confident that his meaning will get through even if listeners don’t recognize all the words.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 10 August 2020 20:13 (three years ago) link
Burna Boy is a leader amid a bounty of new African pop that has been increasingly welcomed in the West: a confluence of widespread availability via streaming, discovery via word-of-internet rather than former gatekeepers, and the sheer inventiveness taking place outside established music-business strongholds.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 10 August 2020 20:14 (three years ago) link
can confirm the album is on my streaming service of choice
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Thursday, 13 August 2020 23:54 (three years ago) link
so far "way too big" rules so much
― ufo, Friday, 14 August 2020 00:12 (three years ago) link
unsurprisingly chris martin is an extremely unwelcome presence here
― ufo, Friday, 14 August 2020 01:27 (three years ago) link
diddy only shows up to interject once thankfully
― ufo, Friday, 14 August 2020 01:47 (three years ago) link
Naughty By Nature (ft. Naughty By Nature)
― Matt DC, Friday, 14 August 2020 08:01 (three years ago) link
Chris Martin is a bullet I'm not looking forward to biting, guess I'll tell myself it could be worse, could've been Allbran or somebody
― The Scampos of Young Werther (Noodle Vague), Friday, 14 August 2020 08:12 (three years ago) link
Sheeran's going to be furious.
― Matt DC, Friday, 14 August 2020 08:22 (three years ago) link
listening again and there is a second diddy interjection that i completely missed the first time through
honestly sheeran is a far less obnoxious vocal presence than martin, if some british white guy had to show up he'd be far from my first choice but the result would probably have been more tolerable
― ufo, Friday, 14 August 2020 08:58 (three years ago) link
I told Burna I did a song with ColdplayNext thing I know he got a song with Coldplay
― triggercut, Friday, 14 August 2020 09:10 (three years ago) link
Very good album. I can't imagine I'll end up liking it as much as African Giant, but that's not a knock, AG is genius.
I was nervous about the guests...rightly so. Martin does suck, but tbrr I don't know if that song would be much better with [yr fav] on it--though thanks to dog latin, I did briefly wonder if Chronixx could have made it work--it has my least favorite Burna vocals too. I have never liked Sauti Sol very much, so those two back to back are a serious lull for me, curious if Sol fans like that one more. It's not ruinous, but the absolute wrong Stormzy shows up, all slow and moody, a missed opportunity though I quite like the women singing backup on that (see also Bank On It; swapping out all the guests for women would be an interesting exercise). Still, there's a happy surprise: Naughty by Nature sound kinda leftfield great, and as ufo mentioned Diddy's presence is not too distracting.
Anyway, even if you outright delete all the guest tracks (though no need to cut N'Dour), you end up with a strong collection, at least on par with Outside, maybe a little better once I listen more.
― rob, Friday, 14 August 2020 13:22 (three years ago) link
yeah i'm not sure this feels like an endless parade of hits in the way that african giant did but it's still very good. i like the sauti sol track a lot, i've only heard a few of their tracks before but they've always been enjoyable. "naughty by nature" works despite its weird concept and i completely agree about stormzy being a wasted opportunity. even ignoring martin i think "monsters you made" is the worst track on this
― ufo, Friday, 14 August 2020 13:28 (three years ago) link
i looove that synth outro in "way too big"
― ufo, Friday, 14 August 2020 13:31 (three years ago) link
even ignoring martin i think "monsters you made" is the worst track on this
otm, I almost wish he'd leaned all the way into the "message song" vibe and gotten Bono
― rob, Friday, 14 August 2020 13:32 (three years ago) link
Is Monsters You Made a deliberate Dirty Diana lift or just a coincidence?
― Matt DC, Friday, 14 August 2020 17:38 (three years ago) link
it's deliberate, mj is a credited writer on it
― ufo, Friday, 14 August 2020 22:49 (three years ago) link
all the select tracks i've tried so far are quite good. looking forward to digging in deeper.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Saturday, 15 August 2020 03:11 (three years ago) link
Album is pleasant and competent, it maintains nice vibes, but it is seriously lacking innovation, energy and hits, and good feats as it has been said. He's not in front of these songs as he was in Outside / African Giant. 23 is one of the few standouts along with Wonderful, Onyeka and the too-short Alarm Clock (one could dream of a free-jazzy / funky Burna Boy album). I hate that generic trumpeting party sound in Way Too Big, it ruins the song. I don't think I'll spin this a lot.
― Nabozo, Saturday, 15 August 2020 06:24 (three years ago) link
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/gq-hype/article/burna-boy-interview-2020
weird sequencing here leads to a smattering of garbage tracks throughout imo but there's a lot to enjoy. African Giant never quite clicked for me; this may make me go back to it.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Tuesday, 18 August 2020 10:34 (three years ago) link
I think I've landed on an 8-song version of this that I like quite a lot if not as much as African Giant (the other 7 range from not-bad-but-unremarkable to terrible):
BeboWonderfulOnyeka (Baby)CommaNo Fit Vex* 23Wetin Dey SupBank On It
* Spotlight on this, which is really good and doesn't sound much like past BB. I could dig a groovier, sunnier, wavier set that sounded like this and Wonderful.
So basically cut everything with a feature (sometimes Naughty By Nature sounds like goofy fun to me and sometimes like an awkward misfire), plus I find that opening run kind of ponderous. If you add Money Play and Odogwu, you'd have a strong back-to-back album imo.
― rob, Wednesday, 2 September 2020 17:48 (three years ago) link
(one could dream of a free-jazzy / funky Burna Boy album)
I would also be here for this (pretty improbable) imaginary album. I rewatched his Tiny Desk last night, and it would be cool to hear him collaborate with a band.
― rob, Wednesday, 2 September 2020 17:50 (three years ago) link
i've decided twice as tall suffers from a lack of kel-p vibes
― whiney on the moon (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 2 September 2020 17:56 (three years ago) link
i like twice as tall a lot an am not clear why people dislike it!
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Wednesday, 2 September 2020 19:50 (three years ago) link
it lacks edgenot bad though
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Wednesday, 2 September 2020 20:04 (three years ago) link
it's still good, i just prefer the sonic palette of african giant a bit more (and the guest stars on that album blend in a lot better)
― whiney on the moon (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 2 September 2020 20:17 (three years ago) link
I def wouldn't say I dislike it. In fact, "weird sequencing here leads to a smattering of garbage tracks throughout imo but there's a lot to enjoy" is really close to how I would put it!
African Giant is a personal fave and part of why is that right off the bat I loved it and couldn't stop playing it, so this inevitably feels a little disappointing
― rob, Wednesday, 2 September 2020 20:31 (three years ago) link
"Naughty by Nature" rules, improbably
― unpaid intern at the darvo institute (Simon H.), Wednesday, 2 September 2020 20:32 (three years ago) link
my fav guest spot on the album by a long shot
― whiney on the moon (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 2 September 2020 20:53 (three years ago) link
smattering of garbage tracks
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Wednesday, 2 September 2020 20:54 (three years ago) link
the pat boone (?!?!?!?!) sample combined with timbo/djds production and a solid vocal turn from n'dour make 'level up' the most unlikely song i love this year
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Wednesday, 2 September 2020 20:58 (three years ago) link
Yeah might be letting my “the guests are unwelcome” thesis overdetermine my ears on that one
― rob, Wednesday, 2 September 2020 21:26 (three years ago) link
Just played this from the start and enjoyed all three opening tracks and NBN...probably just need to let the whole thing marinate a little
― rob, Wednesday, 2 September 2020 23:31 (three years ago) link
new track in response to the Lekkimassacre:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68rvZWARzewBurna Boy • 20 10 20
― Welcome to Nonrock (breastcrawl), Sunday, 1 November 2020 19:19 (three years ago) link
...the Lekki massacre...
― Welcome to Nonrock (breastcrawl), Sunday, 1 November 2020 19:21 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUtZB0foy_4
― just sayin, Thursday, 17 December 2020 22:05 (three years ago) link
that’s “No Be Water” by Burna with Praiz and Vector.it’s actually a 2015 release in the so-called Hennessy Artistry series (Hennessy Nigeria paying artists to come up with a booze-friendly anthem basically). the year before they had paired up Wizkid and 2Baba for “Dance Go (Eau de Vie)”.
― obsessed with quality over quantity or the need to produce tracks (breastcrawl), Friday, 18 December 2020 08:53 (three years ago) link
burna winning the grammy for "Best Global Music" over anoushka shankar and bebel gilberto is a strange sort of victory
― G.A.G.S. (Gophers Against Getting Stuffed) (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 14 March 2021 22:30 (three years ago) link
calls for a new thread! here comes the AFRICAN GRAMMY / Burna Boy (2021)
― Blick, Bils & Blinky • Let's Skip The Shaker Intros (breastcrawl), Monday, 15 March 2021 06:57 (three years ago) link
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/11/the-grammys-have-a-major-problem-with-global-diversity-lip-service-isnt-going-to-solve-it
― curmudgeon, Monday, 15 March 2021 14:12 (three years ago) link
burna frankly should have been in the best rock album imo
― G.A.G.S. (Gophers Against Getting Stuffed) (forksclovetofu), Monday, 15 March 2021 14:38 (three years ago) link
The Grammys are so bad and hated even Drake knows what's up: "I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards. And just accept that what once was the highest form of recognition may no longer matter to the artists that exist now and the ones that come after."
At least we'll be spared more cringey lyrics from BB about losing now
― rob, Monday, 15 March 2021 14:45 (three years ago) link
― Blick, Bils & Blinky • Let's Skip The Shaker Intros (breastcrawl), Monday, 15 March 2021 14:47 (three years ago) link
I did specify "losing"
― rob, Monday, 15 March 2021 14:51 (three years ago) link
the brand-new single is highly enjoyably brash:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h81_XRvVxQc
(no Grammys were mentioned during the making of this track*)
produced by Chopstix
― Long Tall Arsetee & the Shaker Intros (breastcrawl), Thursday, 29 April 2021 19:35 (three years ago) link
*thought he might be mentioning 'piano' tho, but no: no dey sweet, I be Alomo Bitters
― Long Tall Arsetee & the Shaker Intros (breastcrawl), Thursday, 29 April 2021 19:36 (three years ago) link
yooo that bangs
― rob, Friday, 30 April 2021 00:43 (three years ago) link
nice one!
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Friday, 30 April 2021 08:03 (three years ago) link
there's a video now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKv5CBr-kKo
this is such a great style for him, really thrilled by this
― rob, Friday, 30 April 2021 19:23 (three years ago) link
yah i think i like this more than anything off his last album.
video pays homage to some classic busta rhymes videos.
― i was too much listening to your accent (Spottie), Friday, 30 April 2021 21:48 (three years ago) link