[ALBUM REVIEW] Burna Boy’s “Love, Damini” Seals It All! He Is The African Giant

Grammy Awards winner Burna Boy released his sixth studio album on Friday, July 8th – his birthday and expectedly the African Giant delivered a top-notch project that you would love more at every listening.

Burna Boy enlists the help of both international and local artists such as Ed Sheeran, Popcaan, Ladysmith, J Balvin, Kehlani, Black Mambazo, Khalid, and J Hus, Boxset, and Victony.

The songs in the album include ‘Glory’, ‘Science’, ‘Jagele’, ‘Kilometer’, ‘Cloak & Dagger’, ‘Whiskey’, ‘Last Last’, ‘Different Size’, ‘It’s Plenty’ and ‘Dirty Secrets’.

Others are ‘T. A. S’, ‘Solid’, ‘For My Hand’, ‘Rollercoaster’, ‘Vanilla’, ‘Common Person’, ‘Wild Dreams’, ‘How Bad CouldBe Be’, and ‘Love, Damini’.

Let’s take a short ride through some songs on the album.

On Glory ft. Ladysmith Black Mambazo Burna Boy enlisted South African Choral group to deliver an apt introduction to the masterpiece. Glory captures his story and the hurdles he has faced being a black man. He alludes the South African apartheid era to drive his point home. Like 2pac said, it’s never easy hitting limelight but it’s more difficult being black. Burna reinforces this with the lines “You know the screws get extra ruthless when you’re black” . The message in Glory beats the delivery and what else would you call this if not a ‘whole piece of art’. Here’s the African Giant’s story to glory!

Science, Be sure to get the groovy Burna Boy on this album and Science is that jam. The pace and intensity of Afrobeats, or should we say Afrofusion, is evident on this track. The vibes you get from this is the same that made Burna stand out! This is a banger for the streets and clubs.

Cloak & Dagger ft J Hus Burna Boy teams up with British rapper J Hus for this track. Like the phrase itself, this track’s delivery oozes mystery and intrigue. The soft-slow rendition of the lyrics attests to this. J Hus puns add to the spice of this track.

Kilometre This is not unknown and the streaming numbers it has amassed show the kind of hit Kilometre is. The new discovery is that the track fits in perfectly to the tempo of the album. The colourful sound, the potent groove, the sensational bars and the fiery delivery sum up Burna boy’s intelligence.

Jagele Burna’s Boy Jagele is the musician’s lamentation of his love journey. He talks about the fun-filled moments he has had with his lover. She is his cheerleader and he makes the audience understand that the lover is the only one who can influence him. Jagele  must have been a prelude to Last Last, the sweet journey before ‘breakfast’.

Whiskey Burna Boy dons his activism attire on Whiskey. He shares the menace of environmental pollution that has been a norm in some parts of Rivers State – an oil-producing state in Nigeria. Burna’s only escape, like many residents in the axis, is to think away the worries through Whiskey. He blames religious and political leaders for the rot in the society.

Last Last A banger! The song is a lamentation of a heartbroken man in the most fun-filled manner. Last Last is that jam you could ascribe everything positive to. After the Jegele breakfast, Burna falls back on Shayo and Igbo (Drinking and Smoking) as a form of escapism from the pains of the breakfast (heartbreak).

Different Size ft Victony The rock-style delivery on this track tells the story of its content. Cruise, fun  and celebrity lifestyle are the themes of this jam. The ‘Squid Game’ inspired-beat gives this track the dimension it needs to become an instant hit.

With It’s Plenty Burna Boy proves his voice can indeed move mountains. The lyrics of the song matches Burna Boy’s personality. Confidence, self-esteem and big plans.

Dirty Secrets is what the track is. Burna takes his audience back to the sweetness that comes with love. The line ‘Ma je ka ja‘ translated to ‘we should not fight’ dominates the song. She knows the dirty secrets and he is ready to ‘sacrifice all his money’ to keep the love journey going. The dexterity showed by Burna on this track should be hailed, how easily he alternates the vibes on each verse.

Toni-Ann Singh ft Popcaan is itself a metaphor. Toni-Ann Singh won the Miss World competition in 2019 and there have been dating rumours between Popcaan and the beauty pageant. The song hails her beauty and Popcaan uses the model to describe beauty. Burna and Popcaan compare the female love interest to Toni-Ann Singh. The track was produced and co-written by Jamaican producers Andrew ‘Anju Blaxx’ Myrie and Amilcar ‘Cobe’ Smith – Little wonder you could get the original patois vibe from the track.

For My Hand ft Ed Sheeran stands out on the album. The smoothened transition between the singers captures the beauty of the track. Such tranquility, beauty, perfection can only be matched with the brilliance displayed by Burna Boy and Ed Sheeran. One fact is that this song has a great replay value, you’ve got no choice than to listen to it more than once.