Grammy-nominated multi-award-winning Nigerian Afrofusion superstar, Burna Boy releases his long-anticipated fifth studio album, โโTWICE AS TALLโโ.
Executive Produced by Bosede Ogulu, Damini โBurna Boyโ Ogulu and Sean โDiddyโ Combs, the โโTwice As Tallโ’ album boasts of a plenitude of producers; from Sean Combs a.k.a.Diddy, to Telz, P2J, Timbaland, Leriq, Rexxie, Skread, Andre Harris, Jae5, Mike Dean and many more, while the confluence of songs on the album holds guest appearances from Naughty by Nature, the Kenyan band Sauti Sol, Senegalโs musical titan, Youssou NโDour and Chris Martin of Coldplay.
Whilst he pointedly addressed Nigeriaโs colonial history and inveterate corruption in his last album โAfrican Giantโ, the โTwice as Tallโ album sees Burna Boy make music as a citizen of the world, lashing out at racism, exploitation and the general widespread fallacies about Africa.
Most of the songs on this album stand out. โLevel Up,โ is the brooding-to-triumphant song that opens the โTwice as Tallโ’ album. Not only does it celebrate Burna Boyโs own achievements, it also notes lifeโs harsh realities in the lyrics: โSome of my guys might never see the sun/some of them still peddle drugs.โ
โโTime fliesโ’ featuring Sauti Sol is a heavenly reminder of simpler times. The melodic arrangement of the Nigerian vernacular and Swahili in this song, appended to the beautiful vocal variety of the Kenyan group Sauti Sol, gives this track a guileless intimacy, fervency, soul and depth.
In the poignant song โThe Monsters You Made,โ Burna exposes an indictment of miseducation, historical injustice and systemic racism, delivered in clear English with mounting fury. Burna says: โThat song comes from a lot of anger and pain and me having to witness firsthand what my people go through and how my people see themselves. I see how many people are deceived and confused. I just try to blend all of that in and make it understood that weโre all going through the same problems. We just speak different languages.
โOther tracks to look out for on the โTwice As Tallโ album are โOnyekaโ produced by Telz, โBeboโ produced by Rexxie, โCommaโ produced by Rexxie, โ23โ produced by Skread, โBank on itโ produced by Jae5, โNo fit vexโ produced by LeriQ and โWay too bigโ produced by LeriQ, Mike Dean and DIDDY.
Fondly called the African Giant, Burna Boy speaks pensively: โโMusic is a spiritual thing. Iโve never picked up a pen and paper and written down a song in my life. It all just comes, like someone is standing there and telling me what to say. Itโs all according to the spirits. Some of us are put on this earth to do what we do.โ
It is clear that the Afrofusion pioneer Burna Boy is on a mission to engage the spirits, provoke insight into his music and inspire us to a full tank in a delirium of musical savour, but most importantly, Burna Boyโs fifth studio album is an evolution, an adhesive which makes the Afrofusion starโs music a touchstone to everything he believes and stands for. In his words,ย โTwice As Tall is the album about a period of time in my life. Itโs the album about the struggle for freedom. Itโs the album about life in general, real life, good times, bad times, happy times, sad times, great times.
โAlongside the album, Burna Boy has also introduced his official comic book โThe Secret Flame.โ Narrated by his grandfather Benson Idonije (veteran broadcaster/journalist/music critic and former band manager of the legendary Fela Kuti), the animated comic, available here, follows Burna Boy through a spiritual journey of discovering oneself while highlighting the very moments that brought him to where heโs standing tall today. Physical copies of โThe Secret Flameโ are now available for purchase via www.onaspaceship.com/.โ
โThe โโTWICE AS TALLโ’ album is now available for download on all music platforms.
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