I totally get Jamaican Sound system feels whenever I listen to this one.Ĭonsidering it was already making major waves on African radio, there was no way that “ Rock Your Body” was going to be excluded from the final track listing. “ Giddem” goes down along the reggaeton route, laced with subtle guitar sounds and reggae-inspired beat, that sees Burna Boy where he is most at home, singing for a sensual love interest. This is definitely a stand out, one that should be in any DJs playlist. They keep their cool as the ‘Don Gorgon’ and the ‘Bouff Daddy’, while both aiming to woo their lady of interest. This second collaboration leans towards a more Dancehall orientated sound direction. “ Sekkle Down” sees J Hus and Burna Boy reconnect after the party vibes on “Good Time” off Common Sense. Now, being the Afro-fusion artist that he is, the album sonically explores the soundscape of Reggae and more prominently, Dancehall. Burna interpolates lyrics from Fela Kuti’s “ Sorrow, Tears and Blood” to say how he cannot kill himself, a statement as Nigerian as it gets. It is easy on the groove and he keeps it real, trying to block out the negative vibes to just live his life and enjoy.
With “ Ye”, it feels the most like early Burna Boy. “Koni Baje”, which roughly translates as “ It will be good”, sounds like an authentic salute to the greats encapsulated by the African style percussion and saxophone sounds. Burna drops some traditional Fuji vibes on us and sings in his native Yoruba tongue as is fitting for a song with this much flavour. Keeping with the African vibe is the succeeding track “ Koni Baje”. But rather than lamenting, he is grateful as it has contributed to how he is now. Over an upbeat melody that is filled to burst with African drum patterns, he reminisces of the hardships of his upbringing how he grew up, his hood, how he became frequent at the police station in Port Harcourt. Overall very chill, it sets you up for the fanfare of “ PH City Vibration”. Supposedly written for Drake’s project of the same name, I could definitely see the both of them flow over this one. The introduction to the whole project draws you in with its sweet sax sounds, which add to the subtle groove and is definitely Afro-inspired as Burna paints a picture of relaxing and enjoy life. While unfortunately short, it is delightfully sweet. Let’s go with the opener “ More Life” for example. He really tries to demonstrate his versatility, on what is his most vibrant album to date. After a busy 2017 which saw him appearing on notable features, and dropping well-received singles, we are now being treated to some eclectic new music on his latest project and first major label release Outside.Īs a whole, you can place the songs on this Outside record into three categories: Dancehall, Afrobeats, ‘Experimental’. Somehow, Burna Boy as an artist attempts to straddle these multiple worlds, and the proof of this is definitely in the pudding. In another section you have the African take on traditional genres of R&B, Hip-Hop, Reggae and so on. In another section you have Afro-House, incredibly up-tempo and very percussion driven and made purely to move the body. In another section lies what we now call Afrobeats, melding African instrumentation and percussion with Western-like popular sounds which has now developed into much more than a trend. In one section, you have traditional/folk music from the much mature artist catering to the much mature fan base. The soundscape of modern African Music is quite diverse.