Burna Boy, the Grammy-award winning singer, dropped his latest album Love, Damini. The album features appearances by A-list artists including J Balvin, Ed Sheeran, Kehlani, Khalid, and Popcaan, as well as J Hus, Blxst, Victony, and the beloved South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The guest list clearly demonstrates just how wide-ranging the African Giant’s commercial appeal has become in recent years as he’s adopted the stature of a global superstar.
Watch: Burna Boy – For My Hand feat. Ed Sheeran
The album has received fairly robust reviews with Jessica Kariisa of Pitchfork stating that the “singer’s emotional motivations feel genuine, and his shortcomings movingly human, but they can’t disguise the album’s painful flaws. […] Whatever its failings, Love, Damini paves the way for other artists in the scene to take bigger emotional risks.”
Since his 2013 debut, L.I.F.E., Burna Boy has been blessing us with tales of his inspiring journey. The grandson of critic and former Fela Kuti manager Benson Idonije put River State, Nigeria’s capital city, Port Harcourt on the map. In 2021, his album Twice as Tall won the Best World Music Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
During an interview while promoting his latest album Love, Damini; Burna Boy stated that all genres of music from Africa should not be labelled as Afrobeats, adding that there were diverse sounds from the continent. Burna Boy made this assertion in an interview with the hosts of the Million Dollar Worth of Game podcast.
According to Burna Boy, the generalization of music as Afrobeats was unfair to African artistes. “For me, it’s like the same way you’re going to say Nas is an R&B singer because he’s from America or Whitney Houston was a rapper because rap is the most popping thing now,” he said. “I can’t accept that because I’m not a rapper. So now in Africa when you talk about music, the first thing they say is Afrobeats. Afrobeat is a legend called Fela Kuti.”
Watch: Burna Boy – Million Dollar Worth of Game podcast
Stream on Spotify: Burna Boy – “Love, Damini”
Stream on Apple Music: Burna Boy – “Love, Damini”
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