I Told Them…
Burna Boy
2023
Since bursting on the global scene, the self-proclaimed African Giant once again delivers a stellar LP that highlights his ups and downs of fame, and divulges what inspired him to get to this triumphant point.
Afrobeats/highlife/R&B
BY HARPSICHORD
OCTOBER 7, 2023
As Burna Boy progresses in his catalog, he starts to become more and more autobiographical. Fame has since doubled since he exploded internationally with his 2017 hit, “Ye,” which came at a time when afrobeats musicians were getting recognition for introducing the world to a dominant genre that would not only influence pop, but take it over. Now that the world has settled into the sound, it’s time that those artists represent who they are as humans.
On the opening title track, Burna Boy reintroduces himself in a way that finds him gloating. In the first verse, he proclaims “I told ‘em I’m a giant, Real African giant.” He later goes on to say “I told them I’m a born winner.” Although he claims that he is humble, Burna Boy rejects the Igbo nickname of Odogwu, which means a strong, charismatic man that is a high performer. Unpack the word further, and it means reverend. But Burna Boy refutes that in the opening track because he opens up to his flaws of being “a born sinner.”
Instead, Burna Boy embraces being the “Big 7”-- a track that comes after an interlude of the late Louis Vuitton artistic designer, Virgil Abloh, mentoring him over the phone about what the concept of his next album idea should be. That interlude is aptly titled “Virgil.” In the transition to “Big 7,” we start to hear whistles alongside percussion akin to those of Kanye West’s 808s & Heartbreak. What makes Burna Boy stand apart is how he exudes a raw pain in his voice. “First of all,” he drags out remorsefully, “rest in peace Virgil Abloh.” He paints the picture of being in a nightclub, where one better not spill a drink on his Louis V, as the party starts to get more rowdy.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, the Nigerian superstar expressed that “Big 7” was meant to “represent a symbolic aspiration to reach greater horizons, with the number seven embodying an attainable and harmonious growth.” While it’s easy for an artist such as Burna Boy to deliver energetic afrobeats that is cutting edge, he always manages to outdo himself with an array of catchiness, as exemplified in “Normal,” where he exchanges the English language for his native Yorùbá tongue.
By the third track, “On Form,” listeners are getting their usual fodder of distinct African genres. He’s eased out of the hip hop inspired music of the first two tracks to give a taste of Fela Kuti afrobeat (not to be confused with the modernized afrobeatSSS…) with elements of Nigerian-influenced highlife from sister country Ghana. His signature usage of brass horns and rhythmic chant shine bright on an occasion meant for dancing. As another track that is appropriately named, “On Form” recalls the work Burna Boy delivered on 2019’s African Giant. In another effort, he mixes in elements of soca with those highlife saxophones to give us the Carnivàle slow whine of “Tested, Approved, & Trusted,” which salutes the beauty of women.
Burna Boy understands the power he has as a crossover superstar. His role has become larger for the music of his country– and as a result I Told Them… is his most American-ized effort yet. But what would have been an easy blunder for other international artists to cheapen their sound, comes across as earnest for this specific case.
What’s Around The Corner
BB/ANG3L
[And now, an editorial note: When the preview of the “City Boys” music video came out, some social media users (including myself…) thought it wasn’t a solid look for him to be dancing in Timbs and representing American culture. Those sentiments could be viewed as xenophobic, so apologies are in order. At the end of the day, it was an ignorant blunder that happened because the full picture was not presented.]
What makes I Told Them… unique is how Burna Boy is genuinely representing how American hip hop and R&B has in fact influenced the position afrobeats is in today. It does not pander to the American market, but instead ignites a diaspora olive branch. Burna Boy meticulously plants those influences throughout the album with his incorporation of his love for Wu-Tang. Not only does he feature members RZA and GZA to give their advice, and words of encouragement, he implements their signature kung-fu fighting effects at the end of certain records. The same punches, kicks, and grunts that we hear in the hip hop group’s 1993 staple, “Protect Ya Neck.”
The highlight of the album is “City Boys,” which samples Jeremih’s hit R&B romp, “Birthday Sex.” Interestingly enough, that sample is so audacious, it’s a little bit too easy. Somehow Burna Boy and his Finnish (yes, you read that correctly, Finnish) production team of MD$ and Ruuben are able to turn something so American-ingrained into a magical afrobeats number that takes a few cues from the riddims of Tanzania’s Bongo Flava subgenre. At the moment, the world is eating up “Sittin’ On Top of the World,” which samples R&B icon Brandy. Another nod to women who have dominated that genre stateside (see: 2022’s “Last Last” which samples Toni Braxton’s “He Wasn’t Man Enough For Me”).
While I Told Them… is a party from start to finish, what enhances it the most is the vulnerability delivered by the Big 7. “Cheat On Me” features UK road rapping sensation Dave, where Burna Boy is honest in admitting “I couldn’t see, I was cheating on, cheating on me.” Towards the end of the album, he’s outraged on “Thanks” alongside a deep thinking J. Cole. “Is this the motherfuckin’ thanks I get?!” roars Burna Boy. At the beginning of the song we get a Mortal Kombat styled “Finish HIM!,” before Burna Boy rages. And who is he ragging at? The ones who he helped put on: his African fans. See: even the biggest artists can slip up in their pride at times.
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related tangents
appears as one of
“City Boys” for its smart usage of a classic to represent a grander point of how diaspora can influence one another.
“Big 7” for its vulnerability and “wavy” sense of honoring his late friends Virgil Abloh and Indian rapper, Sidhu.
“Tested, Approved, & Trusted” for blending soca music with afrobeats to create a smooth and genuinely nice R&B song.
Key Tracks
When the student does nothing but deliver A’s and then goes on to keep that momentum, you have to give them… an A. I Told Them is stellar because of its versatility. It’s a solid listen from start to finish, laced with dynamic storytelling and production. It’s also a project that unapologetically invites other cultures outside the artist’s own.