We were in the early weeks of the new year, Coachella had just announced the lineup for this year's edition of the annual music and arts festival, with the only African artistes being Burna Boy–which came as no surprise–and Mr Eazi. For the first time since it's inception 20 years ago, Coachella had featured African performers.

Burna, feeling belittled by the font size his name was engraved in on the poster took to his Instagram, "I really appreciate you," referring to Coachella, he went on, "But I don’t appreciate the way my name is written so small in your bill. I am an AFRICAN GIANT and will not be reduced to whatever that tiny writing means. Fix tings quick please.”

https://youtu.be/lPe09eE6Xio

His 2018 mixtape, "Outside," provided an imperative fuel for his impending liftoff to the global stage, debuting at number 3 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. The record, being his third studio project–succeeding L.I.F.E (Leaving an Impact For Eternity) and Redemption–manifested a fully fledged Burna, he was invincible.

Burna's sound is most intuitively categorized as Afrobeats, a genre pioneered by the late Nigerian legend, Fela Kuti, a man who serves as an idol to the subject himself. The 28-year old singer, born Damini Ogulu readily welcomes comparisons to Fela, likenesses which aren't incidental, considering his grandfather was the manager to the late singer, whose sounds soundtracked his early years in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

https://youtu.be/so4dgTRaWFk

In the build up to his newly distributed "African Giant" album, burna gave his supporters a dose of new content, including a solo track on Beyonce's "The Gift," a star-studded project for The Lion King movie.

African Giant implicitly challenges the limits imposed on artists from the continent, being his most expansive project till date, the album enlists some of the top names in the international scene, like Future, YG, Jorja Smith and more.

Listen to African Giant below:

https://open.spotify.com/album/34vlTd4355ddD4q9pPsoqF?nd=1

Here Comes The African Giant!

5 September 2024

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