Burna Boy has released enough songs and albums in the last several years to provide his new fans with enough music to drown themselves in.
Burna Boy is one of the most influential and versatile artists to exist in the Nigerian Music space. In almost a decade of being in the music industry, his songs have a considerable influence.
The singer is perhaps Nigeria’s most prolific A-lister, whether you first saw him once he began dropping singles every three months in mid-2017 or from his Port-Harcourt days.
We put together a list of some of the singer’s songs that we think to deserve more credit.
These are tracks you’re likely to skip, but they’re prominent considerations that demonstrate Burna’s versatility and range.
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Agbada
Burna is at his finest, according to some, when he goes personal. I can’t say I disagree. The afro-fusion artist had a tumultuous history. When he gets into the nitty-gritty details or references his street cred, as he does in “Agbada,” it’s a great listen.
Remember Me (Outro)
Burna’s first album, “L.I.F.E” had a lot of gems like “Like To Party”, “Run My Race”, “Yawa Dey,” “Tonight,” e.t.c., however, it also has some slept on tracks like “Remember Me”
On “Remember Me” Burna signs out of the album which is a good way to end this excellent album with a very engaging pace.
Oluwa Burna, as he is affectionately known by fans, references his hometown of PH city, where he was raised.
The Realest
Burna’s Sophmore album, “On a Spaceship” isn’t his best project but the album had its memorable moments like the groovy “The Realest“.
On the Simba Tagz-produced beat, Burna shows us in “Realest” that he is a one-of-a-kind musical genius who stays faithful to his art.
Pree Me
“Pree Me” is a beautiful song off his 2016 “Redemption” EP. This song came at a tumulous time in Burna’s life and the lyrics give an insight into how felt about the issues then.
The bouncy mid-tempo beat produced by Leriq alongside the lyrics is a well-served dish. LeriQ connects with Burna’s inner sombre creative area to create music guided by a specific mood, and this minimalist beat runs throughout the production.
‘Pree Me‘ keeps that riddim going, albeit at a faster speed, and talks about the ups and downs of an artistic career. “I have a lot of enemies, some of whom used to be my friends,” Burna sings.
Deja Vu
“Deja Vu” is one of Burna’s top well-written and put together songs. On “Deja Vu”, Burna woos a potential love interest on the mid-tempo electrifying beat Produced by Chopstix.
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Devil In California
Burna published his third album, “Outside,” in 2018, and one of the album’s exquisite gems that don’t get its due flowers is the sensuous “Devil in California.”
In the song, Burna Boy is speaking about a special connection he has with a woman, and how he doesn’t fully comprehend the relationship. On a soothing groove, he says, “I don’t even know where I’m bringing ya.”
“Devil in California,” is a slick track that pushes into late-night overindulgence as Burna delivers dizzy phrases about intoxication and a lingering devil on his shoulder.
Calm Down
“Calm Down” is another underrated gem from Burna’s “Outside” album. Burna Boy addresses concerns from people who advise him to cool down on his social habits that he isn’t taking his feet off the throttle in this groovy track.
The song starts with a harmonized “do, do dodododooooo” and Burna Boy sings over it, sharing his personal experience of sorrow and numbing his anguish by drinking from a Styrofoam cup.
His baby girl laments his absence but Burna Boy fulfils her needs and wants her to get on his level and calm down. On production, Jae5 creates an incredibly complicated beat for the song that I can’t even begin to describe.
Ph City Vibration
If there’s one thing Burna Boy is known for in his music, it’s dropping piece-by-piece insights about himself and his upbringing. On “Ph City Vibrations,” he goes into more detail.
On “Ph City Vibration,” he is most assured. It serves as both a mini-biography (“I was born inna the teaching hospital/The 2nd of July of 1991”) and a love letter to his hometown of Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s River States, with references to roasted plantains and fish, as well as the city’s soccer stadium, Yakubu Gowon Stadium (which he still refers to as Liberation Stadium).
Rockstar (The Leriq version)
Before Burna Boy released the official version in 2015 which was produced by Chopstix, there was the OG produced by Leriq which was leaked.
While the Official version is beautiful, I feel the Leriq-version is amazing and hold its forte even against the Official version.
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Rock Your Body
Rock Your Body is a testament to Burna Boy’s flow, melody, songwriting (if you can understand his vernacular), voice, and rhythm mastery all in one. Julz deserves credit for a fantastic soundtrack. Outside has “more life” thanks to the song, which was released in the summer of 2017.
Burna Boy confesses his carnal desire to make love to his partner in the dancehall-highlife single. The song’s melodies are a mid-tempo mix of highlife, dancehall, and Afro-fusion.