Burna Boy Releases His Latest Album: 'African Giant' (Review)

One of Africa’s finest artist in this era of contemporary music, Burna Boy, has dropped his latest album African Giant, consisting of 19 tracks. Burna Boy has almost created a genre of music for himself by labelling himself as an afro-fusion artist. Anyone that is a fan of Burna Boy knows he comes with a mixture of Afrobeats, Reggae, Hip Hop and r&b. Not only is Burna Boy comfortable on any of the aforementioned genres, but he is extremely talented in the way this unique sound is able to combine these multitudes of genres and cultures of music together to make outstanding tracks.

Claims of Burna Boy being one of his country’s brightest musicians is supported by the fact that he was named best international act at this year’s BET awards. This is testament to his talent and hard work. His previous album featured UK stars Lily Allen, J Hus and Mabel, however, African Giant features big US names in the form of Future, YG and Jeremih as well as Jorja Smith, Damien Marley and Angelique Kidjo also feature making this his biggest project yet.

Anyone who is a fan of Burna knows that one of his biggest inspirations was Fela Kuti, who was a Nigerian Icon in relation to music. Burna Boy’s grandfather even managed Fela Kuti at some point during Fela Kuti’s reign. Fela did not just set the standard music back then, but his music was even influential politically, at times even having to be ban by the government due to him always scrutinising the acts of politicians in Nigeria and much branded as pioneer for political activism. Burna emulates this but with a twist, emphasising that citizens of Nigeria should strive to hustle like Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa.The actual track ‘Dangote’ accentuates Burna Boy’s thirst and hunger for not only him but inhabitants of Nigeria to close the gap between the rich and poor.

The very first track on the album funnily enough ‘African Giant’ was a great way to start off the album and was a sign of the things to come later on in the album. Burna Boy is well- known for his mix of Yoruba, Igbo (Nigerian languages/tribe) and Nigerian pidgin (broken English) which meshes well with the sound as well as the melodic flow that he occasionally produces in his tracks especially in the hook. African Giant is a significant track in itself as it really shows Burna Boy embracing his African roots as well highlighting the strength and pride of identifying himself as an African man but also shedding light on this great continent.

‘On the Low’ which was released quite some time before the album actually dropped is a clear mix of afrobeats and reggae with a little bit of r&b that Burna Boy brings with the melodic hook. This tracks radiates such a chilled vibe and it is evident that this track is one of the best on the album as it is one of the most listened to tracks on the album.

Afrobeats/Afro-fusion music is moving across the world at a rapid pace and the transition is being made to the US. Burna Boy is really becoming a global ambassador which is helping shed light and whether directly or indirectly bring prosperity to not just Nigeria but Africa as a continent. It is big moves like these that give younger artist within the generation a platform/foundation to start embracing their talent and showing what they can also bring. Burna Boy continues to ply his trade across the globe by performing at the 2019 Afro Nation in Portugal.

Let us know what you think about the album African Giant

Album Rating 75/100