ALBUM REVIEW: Burna Boy – Twice As Tall

In sequel to his last album African Giant, Burna Boy called for a fearless revolution across the continent and the worldwide diaspora.

The album earned the Nigerian artist his first Grammy nomination and centred his ambitions: to empower African youth to access their power, on their own terms. Twice As Tall—his fifth studio album—sees Burna Boy reassess the world around him from a new atmosphere just 13 months later.

Sean “Diddy” Combs joins as executive producer, and the album carries a unifying sense of pan-African idealism. Crucially, his bespoke Afrofusion sound—a soul-stirring blend of dancehall, pop, R&B and Afrobeats—is pushed, challenged and evolved across production work from the UK (Jae5 and P2J), the US (Timbaland, Mike Dean) and Nigeria (LeriQ, Telz and Rexxie).

Burna has rarely sounded more confident, or impassioned. Opener “Level Up” welcomes Youssou N’Dour and serves another rebuff to Western appraisals of Black art.

Riffing in Yoruba across twinkling percussion, “Wonderful” is a prayer of passion and an open celebration of West African expression, while “No Fit Vex” sends an embrace of solidarity in the shape of a pidgin-laced anthem. The album’s star guests have been thoughtfully recruited, too.

Stormzy sounds fresh and inspired on “Real Life” and Chris Martin is an affecting presence across “Monsters You Made”—a fiery rebuke to the vestiges of colonialism.

This is an album comfortable with its uncompromising message, by an artist motivated to represent. As Combs implores the artist on “Alarm Clock”: “Don’t be afraid to step into your greatness

5. NAUGHTY BY NATURE

The nI’m curious to know how “Naughty By Nature” was created…

Every hip-hop fan on this planet will love “Naughty By Nature.” Not only is the song springy, but it also features vibes that will make you want to dance and a vocal performance by Burna Boy that is way too infectious to ignore.

Though Naughty By Nature’s influence is written all over “Naughty By Nature,” I can actually do without them on the song…

4. WONDERFUL

“Wonderful” as previewed earlier is one of those songs that will make you feel all good inside.

“Wonderful” from the typical African sound boasts a beat that is both gleeful and upbeat. Burna Boy pitched the song as  Africans are replicated by the Foreigners. On the real, after listening to the song, you will feel restored.

According to Burna Boy, “Wonderful” transcends state lines, barriers, and races.

4. 23

DAMN !! I argued with my friends all over the night & just think that “23” is too passionate, too sensual, and too beautiful to ignore.

I also think that Burna Boy harmonizes very well and blesses us with a flawless melody on the song.

His finishing touch on this song is so damn crazy. Take a cop please

3. BEBO

I’ve heard “Bebo” at a Nigerian party before…

“Bebo” sounds like the original Burna boy as it hits one of the four Afropop hits on Twice As Tall. The energetic vibe he dishes on this sound would make you get engulfed by the song, the highly memorable melodies or Burna Boy’s whopping vocal performance on the song, both your heart and your ears are in the wrong place.

2. ALARM CLOCK

“Alarm Clock” literally woke me up this morning and makes me want to get my Jollof rice and my two-step.

Whenever I see Burna Boy exhibit his versatility on the song, it makes me love him more and absolutely when he makes authentic Afropop music. With that being said, ! The song has a great rhythm, lyrics that are supposed to wake on, and melodies you and your African parents will love.

1. LEVEL UP ft. Youssou N’

Damn, This is the best song on this 15-track bodied Album, Why you wonder why this is my best track on this song I urge you to download this track put on repeat.

Burna Boy ups his game on this track and delivers it on a silver plate. He picks the song like the Britian pitch and cartoon style.

SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. LEVEL UP (5/5)

2. ALARM CLOCK (4/5)

3. WAY TOO BIG (3/5)

4. BEBO (4/5)

5. WONDERFUL (4/5)

6. ONYEKA (BABY) (4/5)

7. NAUGHTY BY NATURE (4/5)

8. COMMA (4/5)

9. NO FIT VEX (3/5)

10. 23 (4/5)

11. TIME FLIES (3/5)

12. MONSTERS YOU MADE (3/5)

13. WETTIN DEY SUP (4/5)

14. REAL LIFE (4/5)

15. BANK ON IT (4/5)

OVERALL RATING

(B)

I don’t love Twice As Tall as much as I love African Giant… I do think that Twice Is Tall is a very solid album, though. In my opinion, Burna Boy expands on his sound mightily on it.

Do you know what I love about Burna Boy? You can tell that he wants to be great. When he sings, he makes sure that he moves listeners every single time. He also makes sure that he talks about love and power in ways that your average person doesn’t. Throughout Twice As Tall, I just felt like Burna did everything he could to separate himself from other artists we like to compare him to. When he made music that geared towards hip-hop, he put a little more oomph into his rap bars. When he made music that geared towards Afropop, he made sure that his melodies were crisp and his beats were impactful. Does the album flow as well as I would’ve liked it to? No, but I do see it putting him on another echelon.