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Way before I ever thought of making music of my own I have always truly believed from the bottom of my heart that Burna Boy is the most gifted artist to come out of Africa in this generation.
I could use this article to discuss his discography and achievements as an artist but I would rather discuss his impact on me and a generation of young people like me through his music especially those of us who hope to touch the world through music like he has.
My first memory of Burna boy was watching him fall off a stage on prime time Africa (a show with KK and D1 that aired on AIT…if you know this show and you’re still single…go and marry.).
I remember me and my dad laughing about it until they played his song “Like to party”, it was refreshingly different from everything on the airwaves at the time. He had his own style, his own vibe and his ability to switch between genres effortlessly was mind blowing. He did not hide his versatility at all and every time he put out a new song I had a new favorite song.
It was originally disheartening to not see him getting a certain level of recognition and appreciation that I believed he deserved especially after dishing bangers like tonight, rockstar, run my race and my all time favorite Don Gorgon!!!
Burna eventually moved to South Africa where he made a lot of music with the “A team “ (Aka & Da les ) and they made some of my favorite songs including all eyes on me, baddest team and paid!!!
Burna began to catch the global eye and Nigeria’s after the release of His Outside album and the smashing success of YE. I was excited and happy for him even though it meant sharing him with the same people who looked the other way when he dropped checks and balance.
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Burna followed the release of the outside album with my favorite album African giant, a masterpiece that manages to enlighten and educate the listener about Africa and its history whilst keeping you dancing at the same time, the album was nominated for a Grammy but unfortunately he lost to one of his mentors Angelique kidjo who ended up dedicating her award to him.
Burna took the pain and disappointment of the Grammy loss and turned it into the Grammy award winning classic “Twice as tall” . The morning twice as tall dropped I was at the office cleaning up and getting ready for work, I ended up sneaking to the store so that I could use headphones and I stayed in there until I finished the entire album. Everything from the song writing to the production was absolutely perfect and it pushed me to delete some songs of my own because I felt like if Burna was making music at this level I needed to be working towards doing the same.
Besides his ability to make beautiful music and his fluidity and versatility, I respect Burna boy for his hard work and consistency. In all the years before he became properly recognized in Nigeria he continued to put out classic after classic regardless of the response or lack thereof to it.
Like every human he has his own quirks which I personally do not fully understand but as an artist he is flawless. A true African giant and one of Nigeria’s greatest musical export in the last decade.