On Friday, Burna Boy dropped a new single Wonderful to serve as a prelude to Twice As Tall- his upcoming album. The record marks a more upbeat difference from the sounds from African Giant. The change in tack has left us curious about the African Giant’s potential pivot so we sought out some of the finer minds in Nigerian Popular Culture to get their takes on the new single.
Find them below;
What did you think of the song on your first listen?
Dolapo Amusat: I liked it. The acapella harmonization, in the beginning, had me really excited. Playing the song through till the end, I still generally liked it.
Afro VII: I like the idea of him on a high BPM joint. This doesn’t quite meet the mark for me, however. It sounds very much like the kind of joint that’ll appeal to the “World Music” committee.
Emmanuel Esomnofu: I thought the song was rather average. Burna Boy is still tending his Afro Fusion desires and that takes him further from his most comfortable sounds most times.
Burna’s teasing a new album next month. What do you expect from him?
Dolapo Amusat: I expect that he’ll try and beat African Giant. The name of the album is literally ‘Twice as Tall’. He’s going to try to beat the stellar run he had last year, and take a shot at that Grammy again. So I expect great music, I also expect crazy moves from his team with how they roll it out.
Afro VII: I expect continued growth but given that he’s pretty much a global act now, I expect it to be more commercial, more cross continent features. He’s already the African Giant, he can flex that status with big name collabs now.
Emmanuel Esomnofu: Burna Boy’s forthcoming album will be glorious, if he manages to trim it down to the best songs. Perhaps eleven, twelve songs. There’s been a number of exciting local and international artists who’ve been rumored to be on the project and it’ll be good to hear Burna Boy alongside some of these people e.g Wizkid.
How do you think this record will perform?
Dolapo Amusat: I think it’ll do decently well. Might not be wildfire like ‘Killin Dem’ or ‘On The Low’, but it’ll do alright. I hope the next single is more universally loved. I also hope that Wonderful sounds even better when it sits within an album – then, it’ll be appreciated more.
Afro VII: It should perform well in “Africa” – that is, outside Naija. I’m not sure it works for Nigeria.
Emmanuel Esomnofu: I think the record will do well, get the views and streams. But it will be a pleasant surprise to hear it on a radio as I walk past a street. Some songs tend to have a disconnect between virtual reception and reality. That’s what I think Wonderful will experience in the coming months.