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African Giant
African Giant is the fourth studio album by Nigerian singer Burna Boy, released on July 26, 2019, via Spaceship Entertainment, Bad Habit, Atlantic Records and Warner Music. The album is a mixture of Afrobeats, Afrobeat, dancehall, pop and hip hop. It was produced primarily by Kel-P, along with production from Benjamz, Dre Skull and Skrillex, among others. The album features guest appearances from Jorja Smith, Jeremih, Damian Marley, Zlatan Ibile, Angelique Kidjo, Serani, M.anifest, YG and Future. It was supported by eight singles, including "On the Low", which won Viewers' Choice at the 2020 Soundcity MVP Awards Festival, "Killin Dem", which won Song of the Year at the 2020 Soundcity MVP Awards Festival, among other awards; and "Anybody", which Burna Boy performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who called it cohesive and praised Burna Boy for not diluting his sound. It was included in the year-end lists issued by several publications, including Billboard, Complex and Pitchfork. African Giant won Album of the Year at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards and was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. It was supported by the African Giant Returns tour, which commenced in Toronto in August 2019.
Burna Boy recorded songs for African Giant with Kel-P between August and November 2018. The latter told Revolt TV that he met the singer through a mutual friend in August. He said that they spent six weeks in a Lagos hotel room recording 23 songs for the album. The M.anifest-assisted track "Another Story" was recorded at a hotel in Ghana. The tracks "On the Low", "Gbona", "Omo", and "Spiritual" were all recorded on the same day. Burna Boy told Billboard magazine the album is his most personal yet, and would touch upon themes of Nigeria's political climate and violence in the region. The album was produced primarily by Kel P, along with production from Benjamz, Dre Skulls and Skrillex, among others. It features contributions with Jorja Smith, Jeremih, Damian Marley, Zlatan Ibile, Angelique Kidjo, Serani, M.anifest, YG and Future. African Giant was mixed in Los Angeles and London by Jesse Ray Ernster, a mixing engineer known for his collaboration with Kanye West.
The album's title was derived from Burna Boy's infamous outburst at Coachella's organizers regarding the placement of his name in a small font. Burna Boy held a private listening session for the album in Los Angeles. Photos and videos from the listening session were shared on social media. African Giant was initially announced as a 16-track album to be released in August 2019. In July 2019, Burna Boy was disclosed as Apple Music's Up Next artist. His inclusion into the program was accompanied by a Beats 1 interview with Julie Adenuga and a short documentary. In the same month, Burna Boy unveiled the album's artwork and release date. The artwork was inspired by Nigeria's first 10 naira note, which features Nigerian educationist Alvan Ikoku. The album's artwork also contains other symbolic elements, including serial style numbers representing his date of birth, images of him as a baby with his father and grandfather depicting generational transition, and a stack of gold coins suggesting a single African currency backed by gold.
African Giant is an Afrobeats, Afrobeat, dancehall, pop and hip hop album. On the album's opener and title track "African Giant", Burna Boy portrays himself as the poster boy in the fight against oppression. "Anybody" contains a sample of Angelique Kidjo's "We We". Pitchfork writer Alphonse Pierre praised the song's melody and said Burna Boy's best attribute is his vocal versatility. The track "Wetin Man Go Do" addresses Nigeria's inner-city struggles. "Dangote", a track recorded in Yoruba, Nigerian pidgin and English, is composed of Fela-jazz horns and African-inflected dancehall; its lyrics stress the importance for ordinary people to hustle. The song is named after Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote and is an angry indictment of poverty in Nigeria.
"Gum Body", a duet with British singer Jorja Smith, is a love ballad that fuses Afrobeats and R&B. The song's instrumental is composed of percussion and sensual jazz sax. The Zlatan-assisted track "Killin Dem" is a blend of Burna Boy's Afro-fusion and Zlatan's cock-sure rap bars. The dancehall and reggae-infused "Omo" interpolates I Wayne's "Can't Satisfy Her"; the track has been described as "a love letter to his girlfriend Stefflon Don". "Collateral Damage", a song about the corruption within Africa, features a guitar-assisted instrumental. The politically charged track "Another Story" narrates the corruption of British colonization. "Pull Up" is composed of scattered strings and percussion. Musically, it contains lyrics about a man's interest in a girl he cannot stop thinking about. In "Different", Burna Boy rhymes about the perils of democracy; the song features vocals by Damian Marley and Angélique Kidjo.
"Gbona" (Yoruba: Hot) was produced by Kel P and is a fusion of Afrobeats and reggae. It was recorded in Nigerian pidgin, Yoruba and Igbo. In a review for Pan African Music, Wale Owoade praised the song's production and said it "thrives on the harmonious fusion of a static sound of the past with an infectious dance vibe from the present". "On the Low" is a mixture of Afrobeats and dancehall; in it, Burna Boy talks about a secret affair that he wants to turn into a lifelong commitment. The song was produced by Kel P and has been described as a mid-tempo love song. Lindsay Howard of Variance magazine said the song is "instantly reminiscent of long days and hot nights". The Future-assisted track "Show & Tell" blends contemporary beats and has a dancehall rhythm. On the album's closing track "Spiritual", Burna Boy samples his mother's acceptance speech at the 2019 BET Awards.
In April 2019, Burna Boy embarked on the African Giant tour, stopping in several U.S. cities and performing at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California and the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City. In July 2019, he announced he would embark on the African Giant Returns tour to support the album. This tour featured live concerts across Canada, the United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The African Giant Returns tour was scheduled to begin on Friday, August 9, at the Rebel concert venue in Toronto. However, the Rebel gig was cancelled at the last minute and rescheduled for the following Sunday. Writing for Now newspaper, Sumiko Wilson gave the gig a positive review, praising Burna Boy's performance and saying he had "traces of Fela Kuti's signature electric stage presence". Aniefiok Ekpoudom of The Guardian gave a five out of five-star review of the concert at the Wembley Arena in London, writing it "has the feeling of a coronation of Nigeria's latest musical king".
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African Giant
African Giant is the fourth studio album by Nigerian singer Burna Boy, released on July 26, 2019, via Spaceship Entertainment, Bad Habit, Atlantic Records and Warner Music. The album is a mixture of Afrobeats, Afrobeat, dancehall, pop and hip hop. It was produced primarily by Kel-P, along with production from Benjamz, Dre Skull and Skrillex, among others. The album features guest appearances from Jorja Smith, Jeremih, Damian Marley, Zlatan Ibile, Angelique Kidjo, Serani, M.anifest, YG and Future. It was supported by eight singles, including "On the Low", which won Viewers' Choice at the 2020 Soundcity MVP Awards Festival, "Killin Dem", which won Song of the Year at the 2020 Soundcity MVP Awards Festival, among other awards; and "Anybody", which Burna Boy performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who called it cohesive and praised Burna Boy for not diluting his sound. It was included in the year-end lists issued by several publications, including Billboard, Complex and Pitchfork. African Giant won Album of the Year at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards and was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. It was supported by the African Giant Returns tour, which commenced in Toronto in August 2019.
Burna Boy recorded songs for African Giant with Kel-P between August and November 2018. The latter told Revolt TV that he met the singer through a mutual friend in August. He said that they spent six weeks in a Lagos hotel room recording 23 songs for the album. The M.anifest-assisted track "Another Story" was recorded at a hotel in Ghana. The tracks "On the Low", "Gbona", "Omo", and "Spiritual" were all recorded on the same day. Burna Boy told Billboard magazine the album is his most personal yet, and would touch upon themes of Nigeria's political climate and violence in the region. The album was produced primarily by Kel P, along with production from Benjamz, Dre Skulls and Skrillex, among others. It features contributions with Jorja Smith, Jeremih, Damian Marley, Zlatan Ibile, Angelique Kidjo, Serani, M.anifest, YG and Future. African Giant was mixed in Los Angeles and London by Jesse Ray Ernster, a mixing engineer known for his collaboration with Kanye West.
The album's title was derived from Burna Boy's infamous outburst at Coachella's organizers regarding the placement of his name in a small font. Burna Boy held a private listening session for the album in Los Angeles. Photos and videos from the listening session were shared on social media. African Giant was initially announced as a 16-track album to be released in August 2019. In July 2019, Burna Boy was disclosed as Apple Music's Up Next artist. His inclusion into the program was accompanied by a Beats 1 interview with Julie Adenuga and a short documentary. In the same month, Burna Boy unveiled the album's artwork and release date. The artwork was inspired by Nigeria's first 10 naira note, which features Nigerian educationist Alvan Ikoku. The album's artwork also contains other symbolic elements, including serial style numbers representing his date of birth, images of him as a baby with his father and grandfather depicting generational transition, and a stack of gold coins suggesting a single African currency backed by gold.
African Giant is an Afrobeats, Afrobeat, dancehall, pop and hip hop album. On the album's opener and title track "African Giant", Burna Boy portrays himself as the poster boy in the fight against oppression. "Anybody" contains a sample of Angelique Kidjo's "We We". Pitchfork writer Alphonse Pierre praised the song's melody and said Burna Boy's best attribute is his vocal versatility. The track "Wetin Man Go Do" addresses Nigeria's inner-city struggles. "Dangote", a track recorded in Yoruba, Nigerian pidgin and English, is composed of Fela-jazz horns and African-inflected dancehall; its lyrics stress the importance for ordinary people to hustle. The song is named after Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote and is an angry indictment of poverty in Nigeria.
"Gum Body", a duet with British singer Jorja Smith, is a love ballad that fuses Afrobeats and R&B. The song's instrumental is composed of percussion and sensual jazz sax. The Zlatan-assisted track "Killin Dem" is a blend of Burna Boy's Afro-fusion and Zlatan's cock-sure rap bars. The dancehall and reggae-infused "Omo" interpolates I Wayne's "Can't Satisfy Her"; the track has been described as "a love letter to his girlfriend Stefflon Don". "Collateral Damage", a song about the corruption within Africa, features a guitar-assisted instrumental. The politically charged track "Another Story" narrates the corruption of British colonization. "Pull Up" is composed of scattered strings and percussion. Musically, it contains lyrics about a man's interest in a girl he cannot stop thinking about. In "Different", Burna Boy rhymes about the perils of democracy; the song features vocals by Damian Marley and Angélique Kidjo.
"Gbona" (Yoruba: Hot) was produced by Kel P and is a fusion of Afrobeats and reggae. It was recorded in Nigerian pidgin, Yoruba and Igbo. In a review for Pan African Music, Wale Owoade praised the song's production and said it "thrives on the harmonious fusion of a static sound of the past with an infectious dance vibe from the present". "On the Low" is a mixture of Afrobeats and dancehall; in it, Burna Boy talks about a secret affair that he wants to turn into a lifelong commitment. The song was produced by Kel P and has been described as a mid-tempo love song. Lindsay Howard of Variance magazine said the song is "instantly reminiscent of long days and hot nights". The Future-assisted track "Show & Tell" blends contemporary beats and has a dancehall rhythm. On the album's closing track "Spiritual", Burna Boy samples his mother's acceptance speech at the 2019 BET Awards.
In April 2019, Burna Boy embarked on the African Giant tour, stopping in several U.S. cities and performing at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California and the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City. In July 2019, he announced he would embark on the African Giant Returns tour to support the album. This tour featured live concerts across Canada, the United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The African Giant Returns tour was scheduled to begin on Friday, August 9, at the Rebel concert venue in Toronto. However, the Rebel gig was cancelled at the last minute and rescheduled for the following Sunday. Writing for Now newspaper, Sumiko Wilson gave the gig a positive review, praising Burna Boy's performance and saying he had "traces of Fela Kuti's signature electric stage presence". Aniefiok Ekpoudom of The Guardian gave a five out of five-star review of the concert at the Wembley Arena in London, writing it "has the feeling of a coronation of Nigeria's latest musical king".