The late 20th century was a pivotal time for music in the United States, especially music made by Black Americans for Black Americans. The emergence of legendary hip-hop artists like 50 cents, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and RnB artists like Toni Braxton, Aliyah and Monica shaped the culture of the listeners in that era. Their relevance bled into the early 2000s, and are still a source of inspiration for artists of the 21st century who use samples of the older songs to spark reminiscent feelings for the golden days.
Most recently, Burna Boy, one of Nigeria’s biggest artists released a song featuring American rapper 21 Savage titled Sittin’ On Top Of The World, a sample of Brandy and Mase’s 1998 track Top Of The World. Burna’s rendition retains the scratchy beats and vibrant drum pattern which allowed a seamless mixture of Brandy’s RnB style with the more upbeat flow of Mase’s Rap in the original track, and now creates a sonic landscape for Burna Boy and 21 Savage here. Although Sittin’ On Top Of The World diverts from Burna’s usual Afrobeats style, it is a fun and bouncy track that shows his versatility and appeals to his American audience who are more familiar with the original artist Brandy.
Burna’s Sittin’ On Top Of The World is accompanied by a music video which is also heavily influenced by the late 1990s and early 2000s music video aesthetic. The video starts with clips of people dancing and a song tag shown at the left side of the screen, a detail seen in music videos on Tv – which was formerly the only source of music videos back in the day. Sittin’ On Top Of The World’s vixens surround a bumping car in iconic 2000s outfits; the baggy pants for men and low rise jeans and crop top combo for the women while doing smooth and low energy bop moves. The video carries the message of sitting on top of the world as Burna and his lady are dancing on skyscrapers in space.
The track embodies mixtures of the past, present and future in its music video with its use of past aesthetics and futuristic elements, and also in Burna’s journey as he expands his global reach.