When an artiste consistently drops three hit singles back to back, his debut album becomes one of the most anticipated of the year. On August 10, 2013 Burna Boy officially released his 15-track album named L.I.F.E (an acronym for 'Leaving an Impact for Eternity) under the Aristocrat Records imprint.
Born Damini Ogulu of Rivers State origin, artiste the contemporary music scene knows as Burna Boy has been influenced by different genres of music ranging from Jazz, 90's R'n'B, Afrobeat, Dancehall and Reggae. Though he had earlier released other LP's in form of mix tapes, Burna Boy's L.I.F.E is his grand debut as a recording artiste.
The album cover depicts a microphonetotting toddler (Damini as a little boy) garbed in buba and sokoto and imposed on background images of late Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Reggae icon Bob Marley as well as living Juju music legend King Sunny Ade and veteran Jamaican singer Sizzla Kalonji.
This album art cover summarises the style of the album which is a fusion of Jazz, Ragga, R'n'B, Dancehall and Afrobeat. There is no better way to kick start the album than with an introduction by Burna Boy's grandfather, the legendary Benson Idonije who was Fela Kuti's first manager.
Music seems to be a legacy in the Ogulu family. Spitting verses like: //No think say because I dey blow grammar, I no be Ahaoda boy//, on the second track "No, No, No", the talented artiste tries to correct misconceptions about him and clear the air about his roots. Burna also states that he comes from the streets and this song is an affirmation for core fans and music lovers representing street hop out of Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital. Track three, "Say So", is a groovy party like song with saxophone play by Josiah Baguda.
//This one no be party na rave, you have every right to misbehave, you fit behave the way you like to behave// If anybody ask you tell them Burna Boy say so//… He also calls out his crew Leriq, Pucado, Peedi Picass and Gambo on the song.
"Abeg Abeg" (remix), which features Nigeria music power house, 2face Idibia and one of the biggest music exports from Bayelsa State, Timaya, is a socially-conscious party track. 2face almost overpowers the song by serenading with his vocals and phrases from his mother tongue but Burna Boy comes across confidently; sadly Timaya falls short of expectations both lyrically and vocally.
On "Roses" (Na so e suppose be), a song produced by fast rising music maker Leriq, Dancehall is blended with 90's R'n'B. The song's lyrics preach love and happiness.
Taking his eclectic blend further, Burna Boy fuses of Afrobeat and Afro Hip-Hop on "Run my Race" and amazingly the sound of a saxophone is missing. Rather, the track parades a heavy baseline and that has been embraced by music lovers because "Run my Race" is already enjoying massive airplay in clubs, parties and radio stations nationwide.
The song emphasises the difficulties the artiste faced on his way to making a career of music and how, now, he is enjoying the fruit of his hard work. With snippets from Fela's song, the song "Boom Boom Boom" is a pulsating upbeat tune that infuses Dancehall and Afro hip-hop beat, something Burna's producer seems to do with ease. The artiste proclaims himself a ladies' man but not a gentleman on the track. The song has a groovy and catchy edge.
"Yawa Dey", the alternative Dancehall/Hip-Hop singer proves that his style is very dynamic and unpredictable. Showing off his remarkable talent, the artiste ventures into creating kpalangolo music a.k.a Ajegunle (a ghetto area of Lagos) music and comes out with a street tune.
The lyrics explain it all: //You never see Landlord, Yawa dey!// This song is perfect for original ajegunla dance steps, galala and swo. Ajegunle music icon Daddy Showkey will be proud of this attempt by Burna. The track "Tonight" is a smooth song with a jazzy, low tempo feel. On the radio hit, he switches from Igbo to Yoruba languages and still delivers his lyrics on point; this song proves that there is no certain way to make a Nigerian hit song.
Unarguably the track with which Burna introduced his music to mainstream music consumers, "Like to Party" will rejuvenate any tired leg on the dance floor. It was his first single to hit airwaves accompanied by a spectacular video and shot the Glo Ambassador to instant limelight. The song is influenced by the harmonious R'n'B/Ragga beat of the 90s.
Other tracks include: "Smooth Sailing"; "Don't Run" featuring Reminisce and Olamide – two strong contemporary Afro-music rappers. The song is expectedly a battle ground of poetic verses and rhyming in Yoruba as both rappers bring in their best. Though the verses were short it is a resonating vibe for Yoruba hip hop lovers. By the 14th track, one starts to think the album will get boring but the song "Jah's Love is True" featuring Wizkid and produced by Leriq, kicks things up again. It is a praise tune for the Creator and Giver of gifts.
On the energetic sound, Wiz does what he's best known for which are catchy hooks. The artistes address critics who used to call them names such as 'mix tape wonder' but now salute their genius. They re-iterate that its Jah's love that made them who they are. "Ma loada Ma motto", though upbeat and funky, is probably the weakest song on this album. It just fails to leave a memorable impression even after sampling Fela Kuti's hit song. Burna closes his album with an Outro titled "Remember Me".
The stimulating beat is a good way to end this excellent music compilation and ingrain the artiste's uniqueness in our memory. His top notch vocals are well rendered on this track. As a multi-talented musician with a unique sound, Burna Boy shows he is willing to take risks. This is made obvious on the L.I.F.E project.
Though the album was solely produced by Aristocrat Record's official producer Leriq, the album is not monotonous but it is in an extraordinary class of its own because creativity cannot be measured on a mainstream scale. If you are looking for an album to cop this summer, you can't go wrong with this album. Culled from jajuda.com. Alloh is an engineer, a music critic and street reporter
