Burna Boy’s constant quest for experimentation explains why his music doesn’t fit neatly into the standard afrobeats category. He fuses sounds from all corners of the world: R&B, hip hop, reggae, dancehall, Brazilian funk — and now country. He’s such a genius in deploying this eclectic style that fans and music critics find it difficult to reduce his sound to any of the contributing genres.
Burna Boy has dropped a new single — “Change Your Mind”. It looks like it’s going to be a Summer hit. He takes his afro-fusion music to new territory in this song.
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It is the first time he has tried to blend afrobeats and country music — an early 20th century genre that originated in the American south and was associated with white rural and working class life. Although, until very recently, it has been shunned by many African-Americans, country music draws heavily from African-American blues music.
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I once hosted an African-American colleague for a few months in my apartment during my first year (1980-81) at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. I was taken aback when he challenged me for playing the music of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton — two artists whose country music was very popular among students and lecturers at the time. I didn’t understand the racial divide in music choices in the US. Today, famous African-American artists, such as Beyoncé, Lil Nas X, and Mickey Guyton, have a heavy dose of country music in their repertoire.
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Burna Boy’s constant quest for experimentation explains why his music doesn’t fit neatly into the standard afrobeats category. He fuses sounds from all corners of the world: R&B, hip hop, reggae, dancehall, Brazilian funk — and now country. He’s such a genius in deploying this eclectic style that fans and music critics find it difficult to reduce his sound to any of the contributing genres.
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He enlisted a young and successful Nigerian-American country music artist, Shaboozey (whose real name is Collins Obinna Chibueze) in this new venture. And, boy they didn’t disappoint! The music is melodious, lyrical, energetic, joyous, and uplifting.
Shaboozey’s full-bodied and nasal tone has a strong country feel and blends well with Burna Boy’s deep, warm and rich baritone voice. Shaboozey has carved out a name in country music. His highly acclaimed “A Bar Song (Typsy)” topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for nineteen weeks, making it one of the two longest running Hot 100 number one songs of all time.
Those who’ve experienced heartbreak will draw emotional strength and inspiration from the charming delivery of the lyrics in “Change Your Mind.” Even though Burna Boy and Shaboozey are aware that their love affairs have hit the rocks, they refuse to let go — they persist in their quest for reconciliation, hoping that their lovers will change their minds. Burna Boy even walks a thousand miles, hurting his legs and falling down many times, to win back the trust of his estranged lover. This is a song that transcends time and space.
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The chorus is simple, clear and captivating:
“When the love runs out and the lights go off/
Wanna leave this on a high/
I’m hoping I can change your mind/
I’m hoping I can change your mind/
I know I broke your heart, left you in the dark/
Now you think love is hard to find/
I’m hoping I can change your mind (Change your mind)/
I’m hoping I can change your mind.’’
I’ve always rated Burna Boy as the best lyricist and most complete afrobeats artist in Nigeria. His artistic range is wider than that of his peers — Davido, Wizkid, Asake and Rema, to name a few. Davido may be more popular in Nigeria than Burna Boy because of his party bangers, but he’s a less skilled lyricist and his music style is less diverse than Burna Boy’s.
“Change Your Mind” dropped a few nights ago just when I was about to go to bed. The instrumentation, subtle fusion of the country-style guitar and heavy beat delivered in the afrobeats tradition, as well as the soulful lyrics were irresistible. I played the song more than ten times before turning off my phone and retiring to bed.
I’ve always rated Burna Boy as the best lyricist and most complete afrobeats artist in Nigeria. His artistic range is wider than that of his peers — Davido, Wizkid, Asake and Rema, to name a few. Davido may be more popular in Nigeria than Burna Boy because of his party bangers, but he’s a less skilled lyricist and his music style is less diverse than Burna Boy’s.
My three favourite afrobeats songs in the last six months were “Funds” and “With You” (both by Davido, featuring Odumodvblack, Chike and Oma Lay respectively) and “Police” (by Kizz Daniel, featuring Angélique Kidjo and Johnny Drille). I listen to these songs almost every day. I had almost written off Burna Boy as a serious contender for best song this year until “Change Your Mind” entered the scence. I still rate “Funds”, “With You” and “Police” highly, but I’ll now add “Change Your Mind” to my playlist.
Before last night, Burna Boy had released a few singles (“Update,” “Bundle By Bundle,” “Sweet Love” and “Tatata”), which I rated as either underwhelming or slightly above average, although his artistic prowess was still in full display in those songs.
“Tatata” utilises Brazilian funk to glorify debauchery and the scandalous life of Baltasar Engonga, the disgraced Equatorial Guinean anti-corruption czar, who recorded his sexual escapades with prominent women, including wives of cabinet ministers, in more than 400 videos.
Burna Boy also released an amapiano/funk-like song “Don’t Let Me Drown” about two weeks ago, which sounded much better than “Tatata” and is likely to do well in the charts. It’s one of the tracks used as soundtrack in the new Formula One movie, F1.
However, the just-released “Change Your Mind” clinches it for me. It affirms Burna Boy’s status as the undisputed Odogwu (Champion) of afro-fusion. I can’t wait for his latest album, No Sign of Weakness.
Yusuf Bangura writes from Nyon in Switzerland. Email: [email protected]
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