Burna Boy needs no introduction, as he’s been the poster-boy of Afrobeats for the past couple of years. A certified global superstar with the success, acclaim and stage craft to back it up. As a popstar, he’s been perhaps the most prolific amongst his peers as regards his discography as he’s dropped more full length albums than any popstar since the last decade. With his 7th full length LP just around the corner, today we delve into his catalogue and rank all his albums on the sole metric of their quality.
Here we go;
6. On A Spaceship – (2015)
Like many great artists, Burna Boy suffered from the plague of the sophomore slump. Two years prior on his debut LP, he had made a solid statement and established a unique sonic identity that treaded the borders of Dancehall and Afropop. He wasn’t the biggest star in the mainstream, but he was a divergent artist operating by his own rules and demanding attention through great, resonant music. However, he failed to capitalize on this momentum on his second album.
Perhaps it was a lack of a quality A&R and strategic creative direction on the album, as a result of him leaving Aristokrat records, the label that successfully launched him. Or it was the absence of Leriq, the brilliant producer that helmed the production on the bulk of his LP to find unifying sonic elements to make the experience cohesive. Whichever, the album suffers for it and doesn’t sparkle as much as his debut. However, we see still flashes of the brilliance Burna is capable of on tracks like Rizzla and Soke.
5. L.I.F.E : Leaving an Impact For Eternity – (2013)
Burna wasted no time establishing a unique sonic identity for himself and carving out a separate niche, one that ensured he was playing by special rules. His special brand of Afro-fusion was built on the backbone of Reggae, Dancehall and earsplitting Afrobeats. Despite his amazing pen-game, it was Burna’s delivery and his ingenious way of infusing Afrobeats delivery on swing and bashment templates that made him really stand out.
Songs like Run My Race and #Yawadey are premium lamba and great examples of slangs that fit into that template. The former is more suited to mainstream spaces, whilst the latter is a more acquired taste with its konto-drum arrangement. Like To Party is also another evergreen record, especially for Outsiders as it’s a deep cut that highlights the crux of Burna’s artistry. Great writing, catchy melodic runs that get burnt into your head and spur sing along-moments and inescapable relatable narrative that is memorable.
4. Love, Damini – (2022)
It’s a testament to Burna’s rich discography that his most commercially successful album is not in the top 3 of his discography, but it’s true. Whilst Love, Damini is by no means a bad album and is in fact very enjoyable, it doesn’t have the grand, conceptual narratives or immersive sonic cohesion of Burna’s best album experiences. It’s possible that Burna wasn’t aiming for that and simply wanted to curate an LP that was rich in diversity and showcased the range of his sonic palette as an artist. Intended motive or not, it takes something away from the album.
Nevertheless, the album was a huge success and rightly so and whilst there might be some debates about its classic status, it houses the timeless record, Last Last, a song that would undoubtedly go down as one of the best songs by an Afrobeats artist in the modern era, due to its gravitas in pushing Afrobeats to a global audience and the sheer magic in its sonics. It’s even more ironic when you realize that by sonic template, it isn’t exactly an Afrobeats song.
3. Outside – (2018)
Burna Boy wasn’t treading the path of obscurity in the period of time between his sophomore album and Outside, but he wasn’t exactly flying high either. Wizkid and Davido had already established themselves as the prominent popstars of their generation, and Burna was mostly playing catch up. All of that changed with the arrival of this LP. He had a new major distribution deal, a new manager and had a found a sweet new spot at the intersection of bashment and Afrobeats, leaning more towards the Afro spectrum.
Not only did Outside find premium love on the home scene, it also did exploits overseas, catapulting Burna into the summit of African music zeitgeist in so short a time. Despite it being so cohesive, it still managed to produce standout tracks like the smash-hit Ye, the swing cut, Rock Your Body and cult classics like Heavens Gate and Devil In California that showcase Burna operating at the highest level of his artistry with melodic rapping flows and the tightest of cadences.
2. Twice As Tall – (2020)
Burna Boy’s trifecta started with Outside and ended with Twice As Tall, with the latter arriving just a year after his last album and consolidated on the immensely goodwill that African Giant had achieved by propelling him into the stratosphere, where he was operating as the continent’s self-proclaimed biggest star. Executively produced by Diddy, TAT is Burna’s most politically dense project and most topically ambitious.
Yes, he had always explored political themes in the past on African Giant and Outside, and even sparsely on the albums that preceded that but they were never the most prominent themes, like they were on Twice As Tall. You could chuck that up to the fact that the album was tactically geared for a Grammy win, which it deservedly won or the fact that the lockdown in 2020 facilitated more nuanced music, as night clubs and public gatherings were closed. Whichever way, it’s highly commendable that Burna retains his sonic identity and makes enjoyable music nonetheless whilst tackling sensitive topics. Plus, the album houses the incredible gem of 23.
1. African Giant – (2019)
To put in plain terms, African Giant was peak Burna. All the distinct elements that defined his music were simply ramped up to their highest modulation on this LP. African Giant simply had everything. Soulful, hips-gyrating Afropop in On The Low, emotive R&B cuts in Pull Up and Gum Body, dense political commentary in Another Story, Hip-Hop fusion in Show And Tell, pure lamba in Killing Dem and of course another refreshing foray into Caribbean soundscapes in Different.
At 19 tracks, it’s very easy for this album to get laborious but it’s simply a rollercoaster from start to finish and there is not one filler track, despite it being an hour long. It’s also incredibly cohesive and that’s largely due to the stellar production of Kel-P on the majority of an album and quite frankly it’s such a strong producer-artist synergy that Burna hasn’t quite found yet with another producer till date.
–This article is written by T.J. Martins, an avid lover of music.
