Album Review: Burna Boy, ‘Love, Damini’

Alongside Wizkid and Tems, Burna Boy has been a part of the trifecta of Nigerian artists at the forefront of afro-fusion’s journey towards U.S. domination. The self-proclaimed African Giant has crafted earth-shattering smash hits (“Ye” chief among them), triumphed at the Grammys (he took home Best World Music Album for Twice As Tall in 2021), and collaborated with everyone from Polo G (“Want It All”) to Beyoncé (“Ja Ara E”). For Love, Damini, his sixth studio album, the world-conquering superstar gets more personal, and more accessible, than ever before. Featuring Ed Sheeran duets and concise ruminations on environmental politics in his hometown of Port Harcourt, Love, Damini is a glowing addition to Burna’s discography.

Love, Damini is an unabashedly cinematic album. That much is clear from the stunning opener “Glory.” Assisted by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a five-time Grammy-winning South African male choral group, Burna croons his way through heartbreak. “Lately, I've been fucked up, been havin' a hard time / Like back when my dawg died / Felt my heart split apart like apartheid,” he sings against a downcast piano line. With production that recalls the soulfulness of Kanye’s best sample chops and harmonies that accentuate the rugged charm of Burna’s tone, “Glory” is absolutely gorgeous. When the song lifts in the back half and reveals an array of brass while reintroducing the “this is my story” refrain, “Glory” achieves the heart-thumping heights that some of the album’s other tracks try and fail to reach.

Atlantic

With his latest LP, Burna attempts to strike a balance between the slow-burning sensuality of his biggest afrobeat hits and a slew of collaborations that don’t quite meet the mark. In spite of all this, Burna’s commitment to the album’s cinematic feel is the glue that holds it all together. From sirens that morph into singing on the sexy “Science” to the vinyl static that opens “Whiskey,” an excellent takedown of false prophets, Love, Damini is a sonic universe of its own. This sonic universe features guest appearances from myriad artists including J Hus, Kehlani, Vict0ny, Blxst, Popcaan, Ed Sheeran, Khalid, and J Balvin. The vastly inconsistent levels of chemistry between Burna and each featured artist makes for an uneven listening experience that evolves into a rut in the album’s second half. Reuniting for their fourth collaboration, Burna feels like the featured artist on the J Hus-assisted “Cloak & Dagger,” but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The song, a tried-and-true exploration of how fame places a target on your back, benefits from the inverse of energy. On the other hand, the chemistry is almost there with Kehlani and Blxst on “Solid,” but the three artists never quite coalesce into a coherent unit. Kehlani and Blxst deliver characteristically strong vocal performances, and Burna leans into their languid West Coast style with ease. Nonetheless, the elementary evaluations of the complexities of love that litter the lyrics muddy the song. Burna covers similar themes on the album’s title track to a much more effective degree; “I should show people more love while they still alive / I should always know thе way my people feel inside,” he laments on the a cappella closer. A sleepy Ed Sheeran duet and a forgettable link-up with J Balvin make for some of the album’s less interesting moments, but the melodramatic Khalid collaboration (“Wild Dreams”) is almost amusing with how much it wants to be an anthem. What’s funnier? Burna delivered two surefire anthems on his own earlier in the album with “Last Last” and “It’s Plenty.”

“Last Last,” the Toni Braxton-sampling worldwide smash hit, is the kind of record most artists dream of creating. With its utterly massive chorus and sly undercurrent of melancholy, “Last Last” taps into every gut-wrenching emotion that follows the demise of a relationship. In tandem with “It’s Plenty,” the two tracks find the choral voices that open and close the album transforming into chanted sing-a-longs. Love, Damini may be about Burna Boy and his life and experiences, but the emotions are unmistakably communal. We feel what he feels, and he feels what we feel. This is the reason why tracks like “Common Person” feel sincere, it’s a one-on-one conversation. Conversely, songs like “How Bad Could It Be” land terribly because of their reliance on the experiences of other celebrities which enforces an unintentional dichotomy between them and the general audience. Nevertheless, Love, Damini is at its best when Burna is using his sultry lower register to deliver raunchy tracks like “Different Size,” “Toni-Ann Singh,” and “Vanilla.”

Love. Damini is sure to be Burna’s biggest album yet, but it’s not without its inconsistencies. Although the record is bogged down by tiresome crossover attempts and its fairly lengthy runtime, Burna’s inimitable charisma and innate ability to craft earworm melodies ultimately makes the album another triumph.

Key Tracks: “Love, Damini” | “Toni-Ann Singh” | “Whiskey” | “It’s Plenty” | “Glory” | “Last Last”

Score: 70