Burna Boy Twice as tall Review
The first statement of fact that I will declare is that: Afrofusion is more Kel-P vibes than a sound from Burna Boy. When the Album Twice as tall was announced, what was buzzing on my mind was, this is where Burna proves that he owns Afrofusion. Unfortunately, he has shown that he is not the owner. He was just the artist who had the privilege to voice and give it a name. In this fifteen track album, there only few pure Afropop songs.
THE THEME
Trying to understand why this direction in the making of this album, the first thing I noticed is the excessive deviation from Nigerian influenced sounds. For example the promotional single of this album was more of a south African sound in the song titled “Wonder”. Defending that approach, it was clear that Burna was already an international star and wanted to satisfy his fans from East and Southern Africa. Hence he made songs that reflected those African communities. A song like “Level up” and “Wonder” are songs that have limited Nigerian roots which is a clear indication of his direction.
Burna Boy became another Nigerian to be nominated for the grammys. Although he did not win, the African community around the world took notice. They played his music and even offering to promote his new project. In an approach to make music that they can all relate and sing along to, Burna made songs that had American and European influence. Unlike African Giant album which had over 80% Afropop songs raging from Afropop, Makosa and ponpon beats, Twice as tall has more RnB, Hiphop, Rock and EDM influence.
Burna Boy Twice As Tall Review
Buttressing on the genre of music in this album the following are true. The selection of instruments on some of the songs are very different from Afropop or Afrofusion. “Way Too Big” which is the third song on the album was made with more EDM, hiphop, rock and a very small element of Afropop. It talks about being too big, smart and cool to be reacting or moving around with people with haters.
“Naughty By Nature” which he teams up with Naughty by nature is a blend of funk and hiphop. He copies his rhythm from an early 2000s hiphop jam. Working with the Kenyan music group Sauti Sol, he makes another East African sound. He also copy’s Marc Anthony rhythm in his “I Need You” song in the song he titles “Time Flies”.
In another song which is more of HipHop influenced song, Burna teams up with Chris Martin to create “Monsters You Made”. This is one of my best songs on this album and it will be a total mistake or lie that it is Afrofusion. But when you listen to the content, it talks about how the Whites created monsters when they made up their mind to marginalize Africans. Working with Stormzy, he created a song titled “Real Life”. The song which is a pure RnB track talks about life and its ups and downs. He talks about facing trouble and always picking up from where one left off after taking a break.
Some Afropop songs on the album includes “Onyeka” and “Comma”. “Onyeka” which is an Afrofusion song is a love song for his lady who had had a plastic surgery on her butt. “Comma” is also a song for ladies too. “23” is another song which is a really cool Afropop jam. The song which talks about how music makes him feel now that he is known all around the world. “No fit vex” is also another Afropop song which has Burna sing about holding no grudges on anybody. According to him, keeping a distance does not mean is vexed with someone.
POSSIBLE HITS AND FLOPS
In summary, in an Album of fifteen track, Burna makes only four pure afropop/afrofusion songs. This clearly shows that he is now making music not just for the Nigerian audience but for the general African community worldwide. Although this might affect him because African Giant album was loved for its originality in sound, that might not be same for Twice as tall Album.
“Monster You Made”, “23”, “Time Flies”, “Level Up”, “Nor Fit Vex” and “Onyeka” are songs that are going to be played by many. They are possible Hit songs depending on promotion and location.
