Following his Grammy-winning fifth studio album, Twice as Tall (2020), the African Giant left many equally astonished and perplexed regarding how he’d top that one hard act in his already stellar discography. Astonished because of the sheer growth and evolution his music has undergone to facilitate a smooth transition to the international scape. Perplexed because of the dizzying heights Burna has hoisted himself and the African continent over the past years. With his sixth offering, Love, Damini, the Naija trailblazer continues to be a cross-dimensional stepper. He keeps one foot firmly planted on African soil not to lose touch with the roots of his sound, while his other sole is on the global space not to lose ground as a cosmopolitan shaker.
On the album, he is more eclectic in scope than ever in his approach to Afrobeats, seeing him enlist the help of American singers Blxst, Khalid, and Kehlani. The likes of South African isicathamiya collective Ladysmith Black Mambazo; British musicians Ed Sheeran and J Hus; Columbian singer J Blavin; Nigerian singer-songwriter Vict0ny; and more also join the party. The album is an even mingle of various influences, including jazz, R&B, reggae, and hip hop. However, even with the mix of genres and an all-star guest list, Burna Boy is the mainstay in his nineteen-song show.
“Glory” unwraps Burna’s birthday present to his fans with a solemn performance from multi-Grammy-winners Ladysmith Black Mambazo. “Indaba yami le; this is my story,” the group sings a capella in the beginning, setting the stage for Burna, who justifies the heartfelt start with personal recollections from his distant past to deliver a passionate intro.
Leading up to the album’s release, Burna blessed us with earworms that strung us along with his infectious verve long enough to have us memorise Nigerian Pidgin, however unwittingly. And the album is bejewelled with such celebratory moments. I can’t even begin to recount how many times I’ve caught myself yelling: “Kilome-kilome-kilome-kilome-kilome-kilome-kilometres!” (from “Kilometre”) while busy with something as mundane as mixing my daily afternoon tea or bathing under the rain of a shower head. I never knew what shayo was until I heard it over a Toni Braxton sample (her 2000 hit single “He Wasn’t Man Enough”) on “Last Last”. I’ve been referring to booze as that ever since. “Jagele” and “Whiskey” are other groovy, uptempo tracks early in the album.
Truly, Burna is a sublime maestro in the deceptively simple art of crafting catchy yet moving tunes laced with replay value.
Songs such as “It’s Plenty”, “How Bad Could It Be”, and the Khalid-assisted “Wild Dreams” reflect the opening track’s theme and sombre mood from a positive and hopeful perspective. The former sees him sing: “For this life I dey, I want to be celebrated / don’t wanna waste my days, I want to spend them on enjoyment”. “How Bad Could It Be” also sees uncredited cameos from British singer Jorja Smith and renowned American hip hop producer Swizz Beatz.
Love and romance see Burna explore his warm—but not steamy—feelings in “Dirty Secrets”, “Toni-Ann Singh” with Popcaan, “Solid” (with Blxst and Kehlani), and the Ed Sheeran-assisted single “For My Hand”. As much as those love songs aren’t as personal as one would expect when speaking of their feelings, Burna makes the most of them. In the tracks, there’s a cautiousness in his step, desiring to be in love yet unwilling to commit the necessary sacrifice of forsaking one’s comfort zone and the familiar peace of bachelorhood. An all-too-familiar conundrum of career-oriented Millennials such as Burna Boy himself.
The Nigerian said the album’s name grew from his wish to synthesize something personal for his audience. Hence its name (which, coincidentally, is the ending song’s final words: “Love, Damini”), alluding to it being a letter to his longtime and prospective listeners. However, it is something more. A celebration of love, the remembrance of past days, the pride of Africa and being African, and the hedonistic inclinations of being young, Black, and gifted. Love, Damini is an hour-long pinata; you don’t know what you’ll like and what you won’t, but the moment everything rains down, you find nothing but treat after treat to nibble on.
