here comes the AFRICAN GIANT / Burna Boy (2019)

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)

so good - https://open.spotify.com/album/6aWJgsbvVPQR2HgPztf4qe?si=IcKdQ1mXTC-7_3h4-9boRA

Fun, my wife is a fan of that Toni Braxton song. Really sounds like a hip hop production. Not a hit or anything, not his most inspired, but it's ok.

This is great! I'm hearing way more of the big backing chorus thing we've been getting this year in naija* than hip hop. It's probably too much of a groove to be a "hit" I suppose, though I couldn't care less about his chart success tbh if that's what you meant. For me it's all about how much I like luxuriating in his weapons-grade charisma at this point, real "he could read the phone book" level of just loving his voice & presence. That's not to undersell this: Chopstix's production is excellent with an attention to detail that reminds me of London's work on the Rema

* and in fact that is Asake on backing vocals I just saw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=421w1j87fEM

Burna Boy Last Last official video out too.

this is great

19 song album out july 1