It is very befitting that Burna Boy’s first words on his 7th studio album were ‘I Told Them.’ The album title, which stems from Burna’s burning desire to bite back at his earlier doubters and dissenters, is as direct as it gets. He already reinforced and hammered on this in his rollout interviews with UK mainstays Ebro and Zane Lowe, where he talked about him predicting his destiny and super-illustrious career ahead of time.
The Port-Harcourt-born act burst onto the scene in 2013 with his critically acclaimed debut album ‘L.I.F.E (Leaving an Impact For Eternity).’ He followed the project with ‘On A Spaceship’ and ‘Redemption EP’ in 2015 and 2016, respectively, which were also fairly received by the Nigerian audience. However, 2018’s statement-making ‘Outside’ was a true cornerstone that inspired the giant curve Burna’s career would take. The emergence of the smash hit ‘Yé’ and 2019’s self-appraisal classic ‘African Giant,’ which received a Grammy nomination, established him in the international scene. He later bagged the much-coveted award with 2020’s ‘Twice As Tall,’ however, Burna always felt under-appreciated, undermined, and misunderstood by his people back home. He took an introspective and celebratory turn with 2022’s ‘Love Damini.’ Still, Burna’s strong desire to remind his initial naysayers about his undeniable success steers him back to his natural braggadocious habitat with ‘I Told Them…’.
Track Breakdown.
With guest appearances from seasoned veterans the Wu-Tang Clan (GZA & RZA), J Cole, and 21 Savage, it’s clear Burna was intentional about exploring and integrating mainstream western hip-hop culture with his latest offering while also attempting to preserve his core Afrobeats (I’m sorry Burna) roots with songs like ‘Normal,’ where he addresses his promiscuous nature, ‘On Form,’ where he boasts about his incredible consistency and grit in the industry, and ‘Giza’ where he glides along with street-pop’s man of the year, Seyi Vibez. It’s almost like the African Giant is trying to serve two masters while also subtly catering to his solid Dancehall audience with reggaeton-inspired ‘Tested, Approved, & Trusted’ and ‘Talibans II’ with Byron Messia.
Damini’s latest rendition sees him revel and bask in his glory, and this is evident in tracks like the Leriq-chopped, slang-filled ‘Dey Play,’ the bouncy hip-hop-inspired single ‘Big 7’, and the self-actualizing album opener ‘I Told Them.’ Some might claim the Dave assisted ‘Cheat On Me’ is an underwhelming follow-up to their 2019 hit single ‘Location,’ but it does just enough to earn a slot as one of the pre-released singles. He immortalized late fashion icon Virgil Abloh with a pre-recorded conversation cut ‘Virgil.’ Also, he paid his respect to assasinated Indian rapper Sidhu Moose Wala with a line on ‘Big 7’. Burna has a formula of placing soulful songs on the penultimate spot of his albums, and reminiscent of ‘How Bad Could It Be’ and ‘Real Life’ from his previous LPs, he gets in touch with his emotional side on ‘If I’m Lying.’ I must admit this effort struggles to rub shoulders with the aforementioned songs in terms of delivery and pure quality.
A dark cloud already hovered around the release of this album after the ‘Afrobeats community’ heavily criticized Burna Boy for his comments on the genre. Many felt the discourse was misleading and miseducating, as Burna Boy claimed “Afrobeats is mostly nothing” and “lacked real substance” while propelling himself as a front-liner for his self-proclaimed genre “Afro-Fusion.” Still, those comments would leave a similar sour taste in the mouth of Nigerians after his rants on the strikingly blunt outro ‘Thanks’ featuring superstar rapper J Cole. ‘Is this the modaf**kin’ thanks I get?..,’ he sings, as he references steady insinuations from Nigerians about his mum being a dancer for the legendary Fela and rumours regarding him ordering a shooting at Cubana club after a confrontation with someone else’s partner. On the album closer, Burna expresses his need for more reverence from his compatriots while crowning himself a pioneer for Afro-fusion and furthering his claim as the best out of Africa ever to do it.
Verdict.
Burnaboy’s accolades speak loudly for themselves. Aside from being the first Nigerian-based artiste to win a Grammy and the first Nigerian artiste to sell out the iconic Madison Square Garden, he also stakes claim to a budding plethora of international hits and collaborations, and these have cemented Burna’s legacy as one of Africa’s finest. Still, to whom much is given, much will be required.
‘I Told Them’ ranks in the high echelons as one of Burna’s best offerings, sonically. However, unlike the Grammy-winning ‘Twice As Tall,’ we see Burna leaning more towards commerciality and less towards consciousness and cohesiveness. This might not be a bad idea, with songs like ‘Sittin’ On Top Of The World,’ ‘Big 7’, and ‘City Boys’ primed to take charts and airwaves by storm. With production assistance from familiar affiliates Leriq, P2J, and Telz, Burnaboy ensures the tape retains an Afro-fused aura, blended with International contributions from Skread, MD$, Ruuben, and Steel Banglez, who did an amazing job on the poignant ballad ‘If I’m Lying.’
All these culminate in the 15-track body of work that refuses to elevate Burna’s artistry stocks internationally or bestow his much-desired golden flowers from most of his fellow Nigerians.
In conclusion, Odogwu delivers a well-produced, prideful, but enjoyable album, flawed by incoherence, a lack of identity, and a peremptory tone while fueled by utmost and admirable self-assurance.
Theme: 1.5/2
Track Arrangement: 1.2/2
Album Art Direction: 1.3/2
Production: 1.6/2
Delivery: 1.5/2