here comes the AFRICAN GIANT / Burna Boy (2019)

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

I told Burna I did a song with Coldplay
Next thing I know he got a song with Coldplay

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.

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

i looove that synth outro in "way too big"

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

Is Monsters You Made a deliberate Dirty Diana lift or just a coincidence?

it's deliberate, mj is a credited writer on it

all the select tracks i've tried so far are quite good. looking forward to digging in deeper.

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.

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.

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):

Bebo
Wonderful
Onyeka (Baby)
Comma
No Fit Vex*
23
Wetin Dey Sup
Bank 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.

(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.

i've decided twice as tall suffers from a lack of kel-p vibes

i like twice as tall a lot an am not clear why people dislike it!

it lacks edge
not bad though

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)

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

"Naughty by Nature" rules, improbably

my fav guest spot on the album by a long shot

smattering of garbage tracks

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

Yeah might be letting my “the guests are unwelcome” thesis overdetermine my ears on that one

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

new track in response to the Lekkimassacre:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68rvZWARzew
Burna Boy • 20 10 20

...the Lekki massacre...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUtZB0foy_4

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)”.

burna winning the grammy for "Best Global Music" over anoushka shankar and bebel gilberto is a strange sort of victory

calls for a new thread! here comes the AFRICAN GRAMMY / Burna Boy (2021)

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/11/the-grammys-have-a-major-problem-with-global-diversity-lip-service-isnt-going-to-solve-it

burna frankly should have been in the best rock album imo

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

At least we'll be spared more cringey lyrics from BB about losing now

I did specify "losing"

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

*thought he might be mentioning 'piano' tho, but no: no dey sweet, I be Alomo Bitters

yooo that bangs

nice one!

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

yah i think i like this more than anything off his last album.

video pays homage to some classic busta rhymes videos.

yah i think i like this more than anything off his last album.

I hadn't quite had that thought yet, but I think you're otm

I also just noticed this only 2:16, which is why I'm like "wha?" every time it ends

i liked twice as tall on the whole but yah this is in a different zone

funny tho my fav song off that album was also about ~2:15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny4curtenuk

ftr “KIlometre” is an extra 17 secs on streaming

this is so so def. hope the next album will be called Grammy Off My Chest and will sound accordingly, like “Kilometre” does

extremely pleased to wake up with this in my head. I've never felt so good about the metric system

...and British spelling!

"Question" with Don Jazzy is really nice. Not a banger like Kilometre, but some sly production moves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rOer3k2DWg

had been feeling like he was spinning his wheels a bit but this is wonderful

yeah I'm liking it even more on second listen (though dammit I forgot about the annoying explosion in the middle of the video)