“Burna Boy has not had a single bad song since his On a Spaceship(2015) album.”
A friend, rapper, and music critic told me over the weekend. I agree. Not that the self-acclaimed African Giant has had a lot of bad songs anyway. It is just that his art has been on a steady yet increasingly appealing growth. Ask around, fifty percent of non-Burna Boy fans in 2015 have become fans now. The remaining fifty percent? They are just cool with him.
How do you hear his song “Gbona” and not be moved? How do you prevent the gbedu from entering your body? And can you prevent the infectious urge to zanku at the hearing of “Killin’ Dem”?
From his early foray of “Tonight” and “Like to Party”, it is mot arguable that OluwaBurna’s art and artistry have tremendously improved. The year 2018 was his most successful just yet and if the signs are anything to go by, he isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
His newest single, Anybody, was released over the weekend in all its Afrobeats glory, video, cover art and all. The beat that precedes his voice is purely familiar, laced with a jazz aura and party-starting vibe. “Anybody wey no wan to soji”, he sings. Feels like a threat, but it’s something he can get away with because who wouldn’t want to “soji”?
The artist seems more comfortable in the afrobeats space. He hints at his growth: “People wey I dey tell ‘yes sir’, now naa dem dey call me ‘yes sir’”. He also utilizes a wise saying: “Respect is reciprocal” but not without attaching his own phrase: “even though una know say I special.”
If you were ever in doubt about who might be dominating the afrobeats among Nigeria’s competitive artists, maybe you should pay a little more attention to Burna Boy. He is inching threateningly close to the crown with every new song. For all we know, Anybody is just another successful afrobeats song from Burna Boy.