This album deserves its own thread, plus I'm genuinely curious what will win here--I have no idea what I'll be voting for.
― rob, Sunday, 1 December 2019 15:48 (four years ago) link
too hard. AotY
― tony blair electric chair (||||||||), Sunday, 1 December 2019 16:15 (four years ago) link
otm x2
― rob, Sunday, 1 December 2019 16:21 (four years ago) link
"on the low" is still my favourite
― ufo, Monday, 2 December 2019 00:07 (four years ago) link
impossible, but my gut is leaning towards the obvious here (anybody)
― jacquees, full of cobras (voodoo chili), Monday, 2 December 2019 00:10 (four years ago) link
Probably not voting for it but I was surprised no one mentioned Destiny in the other thread
― Heez, Monday, 2 December 2019 01:07 (four years ago) link
gotta go with 'anybody'
― de-mamba mentality (Spottie), Monday, 2 December 2019 05:56 (four years ago) link
Anybody is pretty undeniable. A few months ago Secret would have been my immediate choice. Tempted by Dangote and after the npr tiny desk thing I have Wetin Man Go Do stuck in my head bad
― rob, Monday, 2 December 2019 14:11 (four years ago) link
anybody is my real answer but i’m voting for gum body
― american bradass (BradNelson), Monday, 2 December 2019 14:13 (four years ago) link
this whole album is fantastic, but anybody is the best song of the year.
― jacquees, full of cobras (voodoo chili), Monday, 2 December 2019 20:56 (four years ago) link
next five after nobody something like this
gum bodykillen demdangotepull upsecret
― de-mamba mentality (Spottie), Monday, 2 December 2019 23:48 (four years ago) link
title track is dope too
― jacquees, full of cobras (voodoo chili), Monday, 2 December 2019 23:51 (four years ago) link
Jorja Smith f. Burna “Be Honest” has really grown on me too
― rob, Tuesday, 3 December 2019 02:22 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q93PQz04SM
― jacquees, full of cobras (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 4 December 2019 16:01 (four years ago) link
every time one of these tracks comes up on my playlist it's the best track, "Gum Body" takes some beating but then yeah the title track
― éminence rose et jaune (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 7 December 2019 16:01 (four years ago) link
on the low is one of my favs still
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Saturday, 7 December 2019 22:15 (four years ago) link
The real answer is Gbona but it came out so much time before the album that it feels previously released (that's the digital age for you), so as a 2019 release I would still say the one with which I discovered the album, namely Killin Dem, because it begins so raw and grows so hypnotic. But I don't disagree with my fellow voters, there are many highlights in these 19 tracks.
― Nabozo, Sunday, 8 December 2019 16:09 (four years ago) link
I voted for Anybody, but this is easily my album of the year.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Sunday, 8 December 2019 19:00 (four years ago) link
between this and kehlani's for me
― tony blair electric chair (||||||||), Monday, 9 December 2019 22:48 (four years ago) link
voted for Dangote as it sounds like Anybody is sure to win and I love getting the Dangote lyrics (or my fucked up mental approximation of them) in my head
― rob, Tuesday, 10 December 2019 14:07 (four years ago) link
I learnt at work yesterday that Dangote is a Nigerian company that sold everything from groceries and clothing to now moving to cement and oil production in the Delta, and that mister Dangote is now the richest man in Africa.
― Nabozo, Tuesday, 10 December 2019 19:38 (four years ago) link
Their commercials are all over CNN!
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 10 December 2019 19:57 (four years ago) link
dangote is my favourite too
― tony blair electric chair (||||||||), Tuesday, 10 December 2019 20:21 (four years ago) link
Voting deadline fast approaching and I still haven’t made up my mind.
I was lucky enough to see Burna live in Amsterdam in October (in the biggest venue for an Afropop act so far) and can confirm: literally all of these tracks are anthems. The crowd lapped it up, and he was all smiles all the time. Nothing Tiny Desk about it at all!
So I’m more or less following Nabozo’s reasoning: “Gbona” and “On The Low” (no matter how gigantic they are still) are out, they were 2018 EOY material. So another one of the 9 (!) tracks that have had the video treatment so far? “Anybody”, “Gum Body”, and yes!!!! “Killin Dem” (again, yes!!!) are all worthy. And then there’s “Spiritual”, still my favourite of the deep cuts.
Still some time left...
― breastcrawl, Monday, 16 December 2019 20:04 (four years ago) link
(and yes, AOTY, no question)
― breastcrawl, Monday, 16 December 2019 20:05 (four years ago) link
voted Anybody but so many of these tracks are better than a lot of other stuff i was into this year.
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Monday, 16 December 2019 20:36 (four years ago) link
Spiritual is awesome. I might have already said this on the other thread, but I love how Outside ends with that line about his mother worrying about him ending up like Vybz Kartel, and then this one ends with a clip of her accepting a BET award for him
― rob, Monday, 16 December 2019 20:47 (four years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Tuesday, 17 December 2019 00:01 (four years ago) link
was just getting into this and he drops a history lesson :D
wasn't sure about the first few tracks but there's a shift in mood to something more melancholy and rounded about 1/3 of the way in ('gum body' might be that moment), and i really dig the more guitar-led stuff
― imago, Tuesday, 17 December 2019 20:16 (four years ago) link
it is a little funny to have learned about Unilever's colonial history from this album
― rob, Tuesday, 17 December 2019 20:20 (four years ago) link
it sort of feels like he had to frontload a few more conventional bangers before getting into the deeper message of what he wanted to say - is this a fair criticism? maybe it's just taken a few tracks for me to get in the mood lol
― imago, Tuesday, 17 December 2019 20:23 (four years ago) link
I'd be a little surprised if that impression continued for multiple listens, if for no other reason than Anybody seems close to the consensus favorite around here. Also, Wetin Man Go Do has that same vibe if I'm understanding your take. For me this album is 100% killer with one exception: "This Side" and only because of YG).
Agreed on the guitar though--I've been idly thinking about starting a thread for guitar in contemporary non-rock production. I feel like a surprisingly large number of my favorite tracks this year have guitar in them. Part of it is the highlife/afrobeat legacy resurfacing in Nigerian and Nigerian-influenced stuff, but it's still remarkable imo
― rob, Tuesday, 17 December 2019 20:30 (four years ago) link
yeah start that thread! there's some really lovely work here.
oh look here's future, guess the spell's broken ;)
based on almost the whole album, will vote for one of the tracks in that run from 'gum body', or 'different'
― imago, Tuesday, 17 December 2019 20:35 (four years ago) link
Yes to the highlife-y guitar, it's integrated so beautifully, production-wise. Always makes me happy cos I love that sound.
― a very powerful woman in the dog world (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 17 December 2019 20:42 (four years ago) link
yeah i'm voting 'secret', that song is magical
― imago, Tuesday, 17 December 2019 21:02 (four years ago) link
but 'different' was a close second
― imago, Tuesday, 17 December 2019 21:03 (four years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Wednesday, 18 December 2019 00:01 (four years ago) link
<3 whoever voted for Blak Ryno
― rob, Wednesday, 18 December 2019 13:38 (four years ago) link
Those are not the results I saw in my dream last night! There every song had received at least one vote, though I can’t tell you who came out on top. Voted for “Killin Dem” in the end myself.Now treat yourselves to the Wizkid EP perhaps? It has Kel-P, and guitars!
― breastcrawl, Wednesday, 18 December 2019 17:25 (four years ago) link
More Burna, more Kel-P, plus de... Dadju:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwEyHYGIO80“Donne moi l’accord”
― breastcrawl, Monday, 23 December 2019 21:27 (four years ago) link
I wasn’t aware of this afrobeat track, from Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack that came out last month:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGcQOyNqmyQBurna Boy • My Money, My BabyBut in somewhat bigger news: a brand new single for Christmas with a distinctly different sound:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RCFHekqPaIBurna Boy • Money Play
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 24 December 2019 22:53 (four years ago) link
dig all three of these.
― championship winning vibration (Spottie), Friday, 27 December 2019 03:41 (four years ago) link
Video #10 is for “Secret”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZcmBH7PnSM
Dedicating it to longneck.
― breastcrawl, Saturday, 25 January 2020 19:00 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGL1JoC2IaQ👌🏼
― ||||||||, Saturday, 25 January 2020 19:58 (four years ago) link
^^^ oh hey i coengine33red this song! recorded b3urna's ho3ok a cpl months ago. happy to see it released so soon
― lumen (esby), Saturday, 25 January 2020 20:48 (four years ago) link
This song is apparently a month old but I only heard it today. It's an absolute banger.
Nappy & Burna Boy - Ayehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCXjRUasA48
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Saturday, 1 February 2020 23:22 (four years ago) link
that's awesome, esby, good work!
xp
love the nappy track. such a bop - burna can do no wrong rn
― ||||||||, Monday, 3 February 2020 21:53 (four years ago) link
Hardly any discussion here about the “Money Play” single Burna dropped last Xmas. It has definitely grown on me, but it still feels like a bit of a hiccup in his imperial phase.
― breastcrawl, Wednesday, 26 February 2020 22:29 (four years ago) link
Anyway, I made a pseudo-pan-African-pop/not-pop playlist for the rolling afro 2020 thread and all Afro-adjacent threads, generously defined. It’s already 108 tracks deep, so enjoy!ILM rolling✳️all-inclusive✳️afro 2020
― breastcrawl, Wednesday, 26 February 2020 22:30 (four years ago) link
He clearly went for feeling and a less expansive sound. It's all very pleasant and competent but he struggles to bring new things. For an afrobeats album it's very good, for a Burna Boy album it's lacking. By little at first, quite severely after. I may like 'Jagele' best, without being really impressed.
― Nabozo, Saturday, 9 July 2022 21:08 (one year ago) link
it's not as strong as african giant but again, it's a big improvement over twice as tall
nice & breezy, hope he scores some crossover hits from this, as he's clearly aiming for
― ufo, Monday, 11 July 2022 04:35 (one year ago) link
somehow making guest appearances on afrobeats singles does wonders for sheeran, "for my hand" here and fireboy dml's "peru" are the best he's ever sounded
― ufo, Monday, 11 July 2022 05:26 (one year ago) link
very much agree. Sheeran is unbearable to me most times (smug, uninspired but oh so highly effective stuff like “Bad Habits” can feel like the Worst Music Ever on a bad day), but the first thing I liked of his was “Shape Of You”, in the shape of its Legendury Beatz (afropop) remix. part of it is smart marketing I’m sure, but he clearly loves African pop: he joined Fuse ODG in Twi on his “Boa Me” single in 2017 and also did a highlife-inspired track with him on his own album. he also had an official amapiano remix of “Bad Habits” (!) made by Kooldrink (of Tyla’s “Getting Late” fame). and yes, his feature on “Peru” is my favourite thing he ever did.
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Monday, 11 July 2022 06:56 (one year ago) link
“Last Last” is shaping up to be Burna’s biggest hit btw, it’s currently at 12 in the UK and is doing well in several European countries, but also in places like New Zealand and Canada. the fact that it’s the biggest song in South Africa is also quite exceptional.
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Monday, 11 July 2022 07:06 (one year ago) link
def one of the best songs on the project
― xheugy eddy (D-40), Monday, 11 July 2022 18:33 (one year ago) link
i like this fine, its... pleasant. but im not finding it particularly dynamic. i think i like twice as tall more but prob too early to declare.
common person is the one i keep going back to, quite moving
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0SREUni2V8
― Spottie, Tuesday, 12 July 2022 21:01 (one year ago) link
Joey Akan is pretty harsh
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 13 July 2022 19:03 (one year ago) link
That guy is such a weird & bad writer
― rob, Wednesday, 13 July 2022 19:08 (one year ago) link
I will say that piece and pitchfork's both correctly identify Cloak & Dagger as a highlight
― rob, Wednesday, 13 July 2022 19:09 (one year ago) link
And I generally agree with the first half >> second half narrative of both reviews. I called this "extremely smooth" upthread but I think what I should have said was "extremely mellow," so these takes aren't very surprising. The album could use a bigger dose of the biting menace you get in Kilometre
― rob, Wednesday, 13 July 2022 19:12 (one year ago) link
Pitchfork classifies it under… Rap?? what now??
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 13 July 2022 19:18 (one year ago) link
anyway, that review (the P’fork one) is generally on point
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 13 July 2022 19:25 (one year ago) link
Yeah agreed, the concluding paragraph is a v good summation, though the MLK handwringing is a bit much--not that that's a good line lol, but "extracting associative value" is silly in light of 6 decades of misuse & abuse of that speech
― rob, Wednesday, 13 July 2022 19:34 (one year ago) link
yeah the first run of songs (before the non-j hus guests start showing up) is pretty flawless imo, but i haven't been returning to the second half beyond "common person," "vanilla," and the blxst/kehlani collab
― in places all over the world, real stuff be happening (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 13 July 2022 19:51 (one year ago) link
agree that the first half is stronger & more interesting, but idk the only dud is the khalid track
― ufo, Wednesday, 13 July 2022 21:24 (one year ago) link
here’s a Nigerian review that makes more sense than the Joey Akan one - although I don’t agree with some of the song assessments.
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Monday, 18 July 2022 09:18 (one year ago) link
meanwhile, it’s “Vanilla” that gets a video besides the Ed Sheeran collabo:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNYl4ZCZDAI
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Monday, 18 July 2022 09:33 (one year ago) link
It's pretty subtle but does the album mix of Kilometre sounds different to anyone else? Not just different but a little better/more banging if my ears can be trusted
― rob, Monday, 18 July 2022 15:01 (one year ago) link
Yeah, I noticed it at once. Not sure if it needed it, but there’s more going on in the mix for sure.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Tuesday, 19 July 2022 10:38 (one year ago) link
more Burna chart stats - I know you love ‘em:“Last Last” enters the Billboard Hot 100 at #86, his first US hit. it’s now #7 in the UK, where “For My Hand” debuts at #30 - making it the first amapiano-ish(-ish) track to go top 40, I think?Love, Damini enters the UK (and Dutch) album charts at #2, and the Billboard 200 Albums at #14, highest peaks for an afropop/afrobeats album ever (for comparison, Made in Lagos debuted at #15 in the UK and #80 in the US (and #28 for the Deluxe Edition when “Essence” was blowing up)
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Thursday, 21 July 2022 20:06 (one year ago) link
listening to the album again today after a couple of days hiatus: first half remains very strong, of the second-half collabos I still like the J Balvin one, but turns out “Solid” ain’t bad either. the others tho… nah.
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Thursday, 21 July 2022 20:10 (one year ago) link
"common person" too ordinary? "vanilla" too...you know?
― in places all over the world, real stuff be happening (voodoo chili), Thursday, 21 July 2022 20:13 (one year ago) link
I was talking about the songs with features specifically. the rest of the second half is also weaker than the first, but “Common Person” inparticular stood out much more for me this time
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Thursday, 21 July 2022 20:31 (one year ago) link
“Wild Dreams” is more like a tame impala tho
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Thursday, 21 July 2022 20:32 (one year ago) link
xp ah missed the word "collabos" in there
― in places all over the world, real stuff be happening (voodoo chili), Thursday, 21 July 2022 20:37 (one year ago) link
icymi, Last Last has been riddim-ized in JA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y36Bg8wvPg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yugwBn8doVk
― rob, Thursday, 22 September 2022 13:59 (one year ago) link
Gotta love Skilli's minimalism. Bay-be.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Thursday, 22 September 2022 19:45 (one year ago) link
new song, “Alone”, from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever thingy:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8qGmBtXZV8
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Sunday, 20 November 2022 16:26 (one year ago) link
it’s growing on me
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Sunday, 27 November 2022 19:13 (one year ago) link
Burna x Balvin, “Rollercoaster”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyVVGW-5ITwsounds like a rehash of “Anybody”/“Gbona”-era Burna, aimed primarily (or even exclusively) at the global market. not sure the song is all that strong tho.
― at bottom, wrapping my arms around some tripe called "Quest" (breastcrawl), Monday, 20 March 2023 17:29 (one year ago) link
it would have fit fine on the last album, it's pleasant but nothing special
― ufo, Monday, 20 March 2023 21:18 (one year ago) link
sounding great on talibans - https://open.spotify.com/album/4EouhaKTJkW8xRpLsCz7va?si=dCzd-LIOR5mXGfiFg7K9TA
― just sayin, Friday, 21 July 2023 22:36 (eight months ago) link
^otm
his new single "Big 7" is so much fun:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GATRApPww8
new album out 8/25
― rob, Friday, 28 July 2023 14:05 (eight months ago) link
hell yeah
― ludicrously capacious bag (voodoo chili), Friday, 28 July 2023 14:33 (eight months ago) link
if this means there's a RZA beat on the album...oh man
― rob, Friday, 28 July 2023 14:34 (eight months ago) link
yeah “big 7” is great … one of the best things from him in recent memory
― J0rdan S., Friday, 28 July 2023 16:24 (eight months ago) link
i really love this song... "ghetto gospel preacher / two time community service breacher" is a great line
i can't quite put my finger on it but this feels like it harkens back to 'outside' era to me in that it's sorta this sui generis version of pop-rap that has clear west african/american/carribean influences but feels slightly unmoored from any specific region or genre, all the influences are baked in and not easily separable. it's kinda like he's just floating above the globe, absorbing sounds and then spitting out a song where everything feels seamlessly woven together (forgive my metaphor mixing). great record. i feel like i got burned a bit by the last album, which i really wanted to like (and which had a great lead single), but this song has me optimistic
― J0rdan S., Wednesday, 2 August 2023 15:22 (seven months ago) link
https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/burna-boy-afrobeats-lacks-substance-faces-backlash-1234783091/
Burna Boy getting flack for telling Apple interviewer that afrobeats lacks substance
― curmudgeon, Friday, 25 August 2023 19:41 (seven months ago) link
New album sounds perfect and unforced outside of the wu tang features.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Friday, 25 August 2023 20:19 (seven months ago) link
he's kinda coasting in the same way as the last album but it's still good, very solid stuff
no idea what the point of the wu-tang interludes is though
― ufo, Saturday, 26 August 2023 01:00 (seven months ago) link
yeah this is rather good! only listened once, but I think I was more into the second half? starting with Big 7 it really flows, though agreed about the Wu stuff and I probably just need to pay more attention to the first half
― rob, Saturday, 26 August 2023 15:10 (seven months ago) link
upgrading my opinion to: this rules
I'm curious what J0rd thinks?
― rob, Friday, 1 September 2023 15:59 (six months ago) link
have only listened once, but i am not entirely surprised by the mixed reception, considering this is such a blatant mainstream play. but i think it's pretty good overall, give or take a j. cole verse, definitely a major step above last year's alb.
― is he disgruntled adrian? (voodoo chili), Friday, 1 September 2023 16:23 (six months ago) link
I’m not sure what mainstream means in this context
― rob, Friday, 1 September 2023 21:21 (six months ago) link
it feels like he’s trying to speak more to the rap establishment with the wu appearances, plus 21 savage and j. cole guest verses
― is he disgruntled adrian? (voodoo chili), Friday, 1 September 2023 23:41 (six months ago) link
oh ok that makes sense. He’s bigger than j cole in my mind but that’s probably empirically wrong
― rob, Friday, 1 September 2023 23:51 (six months ago) link
caught his concert last night, the show is incredible. live version of “anybody” blew the roof off the place
― flopson, Wednesday, 8 November 2023 19:09 (four months ago) link
he is awesome live
― slob wizard (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 8 November 2023 19:09 (four months ago) link
recorded version of “it’s plenty” was a bit too cheesy to me but a stadium full of people singing along and going nuts to it while Burna boy is jumping up and down with the worlds widest grin on his face with confetti cannons and fireworks going off behind him really warmed me on it
― flopson, Wednesday, 8 November 2023 19:33 (four months ago) link