Burna Boy is gathering every ammunition he can lay his hand on for his forthcoming album, “Twice as Tall” as he involves American Icon, P. Diddy on the album.
According to a report by the New York Times, Burna Boy enlisted the American executive producer: Sean Combs, a.k.a. Diddy, who has long guided rappers and singers (most famously the Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige) toward wider audiences.
Diddy who spoke to the Magazine on why he agreed to be on the album said,
“I’m on record that I like hit records. If they’re not hit records, I don’t like them,” Combs said via FaceTime from Los Angeles.
“A lot of times when an artist wants to be coached or pushed to maybe a greater level, that’s where I’ve come in,” he said. “He, as every artist, he wants his music to be heard by the world. He doesn’t care about crossing over. You know, he’s not trying to get hot. He’s not, like, ‘I want to be a big pop star’ — he’s already a star. He wants his music to be heard, his message, his people.”
It was also revealed that most of the album was recorded during the pandemic, and Burna Boy and Diddy collaborated across an eight-hour time difference via frequent Zoom calls and file transfers.
Diddy brought in musical contributions including drums from Anderson .Paak on of the songs, “Alarm Clock” and additional production from Timbaland on another “Wetin Dey Sup”.
Diddy also makes his presence audible with voice-over intros on some songs, briefly upstaging Burna Boy. But he said that the music was about 80 percent complete, including all of the songwriting before he was brought in to provide “fresh ears” and his sense of detail. The album he added, is “a modern but pure, unapologetic African body of work.”
Diddy also speaking on the importance of the album said. “Through this album, I think it’s important for Africa to be heard. And so it’s bigger than just an album. He’s not just on a musical artist trip. He’s a revolutionary. His conviction is serious.”
“Twice as Tall,” which is revealed to have 15 songs sees Burna Boy takes stock of his accomplishments and his vulnerabilities, and he encourages ambition and perseverance against long odds; he also parties. And he lashes out at racism, exploitation and widespread misconceptions about Africa.
Burna Boy also features Chris Martin of the Popular Music group, Coldplay on a song called “The Monsters You Made.”
Burna Boy also revealed how he writes his song. “I’ve never picked up a pen and paper and written down a song in my life,” he said. “It all just comes, like someone is standing there and telling me what to say. It’s all according to the spirits. Some of us are put on this earth to do what we do.”
The album which is expected to drop on the 14th of August features the works of his longtime collaborators and producers, LeriqQ, Telz, P2J, JAE5, Rexxie amongst others.
Diddy via his Twitter page acknowledged his involvement with Burna Boy as he wrote: “Twice as Tall”.
https://twitter.com/Diddy/status/1291278430366060545?s=20
#ROCKETBOYS PRODUCTION SQUAD @OfficialLeriQ @_Telz 😭🔥 …….. @p2jmusic @JAE5_ @rexxiepondabeat #TAT
— Burna Boy (@burnaboy) August 6, 2020
#TWICEASTALL 14/08 🦍 pic.twitter.com/YOMdN1s2xL
— Burna Boy (@burnaboy) August 5, 2020