Music  

Burna Boy solidifies ‘African Giant’ claim in new album

By Daniel Anazia

27 July 2019   |   4:31 am

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Afro-Fusion artiste, Damini Ogulu, well known with the stage name Burna Boy, has released his fourth studio album with the title African Giant.

Afro-Fusion artiste, Damini Ogulu, well known with the stage name Burna Boy, has released his fourth studio album with the title African Giant.

The body of work, which dropped in the early hours of yesterday, features prominent music heavyweights including Beninese-American singer, songwriter, actress and activist, Angelique Kidjo; youngest son of reggae legend Bob Marley, Damian Marley; Future, M.anifest, Jeremih, Zlatan Ibile, Serani, Jorja Smith and YG.

Burna Boy is known to experiments a lot with different sounds, and this project was no exception. The new offering is a cohesive body of work, with each song smoothly sequencing into the next.

African Giant is indeed a proof to Burna Boy’s claim of being African Giant. With maximum control of sound in this project, listening to this album, there is assurance that the Killin Dem crooner is very likely to be ‘best artiste’ out of Africa right now.

The album title originates from the Star Lager and Pepsi Ambassador’s infamous outburst at the organisers of Coachella for spelling his name in small case. It documents topics of achieving dreams, life’s beauty and activism.

A veritable representation of Afrobeats, listeners can also feel the influence of Fela’s Afrobeat, which is usually mistaken for Afrobeats on the album. Originality in sound has been Burna Boy’s major weapon and he has wielded it perfectly.

In 2018, when his Ye gained massive attention across the world after Kanye West dropped a project with the same title, the Nigerian artiste became one of the most sought after Afrobeats sensations. He has collaborated with various acts including Lily Allen, J Hus, Dave, and many others. A testament to his tremendous growth came in the form of a spot on Coachella.

At the forefront of African artistes trying to break into the global market. This was further affirmed when his name resonated with many Afrobeats lovers when he won the BET award for Best International Act this year.

Although everyone has their preference, the 19-track album requires more than one listen before a judgement can be made on the project. Some of the songs on the album include rave making hits such as Gbona, On The Low, Killin Dem, Dangote, Anybody, and Pull Up.