Fresh off the release of one of this years standout albums ‘African Giant’, as well as a number of successful singles and features, Burna Boy keeps the momentum going by dropping the video for one of the standout songs on the album, ‘Another Story’.
The video release coincides with Nigerian Independence Day earlier this week, and Burna perfectly picked what was not only a great gem on the album, but one of the most politically striking and socially conscious moments on the whole project.
The song features a great guitar melody complemented by chill, soulful piano chords to match. It makes for a relaxing vibe that lets Burna Boy really get his emotion out in his lyrics. The traditional drums aren’t as dance focused as a lot of mainstream afrobeats songs but they nonetheless give the song a great live rhythm. Compared to more upbeat tracks like ‘Killin Dem’, this song is more reflective and laidback.
The song opens with a quote talking about the colonial economics that brought us the modern-day Nigeria that we know and love today – it’s a striking history lesson reminding us that what is a proud independent nation today was originally little more than a British government investment in the 20th century.
It also gives us a reminder that those same imperialist values appear to have been left in the past but may have just changed names – noting that The Royal Niger Company that originally sold its rights of administration didn’t close down but was just absorbed into what is now one of the biggest international companies in Unilever.
Burna goes on to sing in his chorus and hook about Nigeria today and the pain in its history. He sings about people being sold “Another Story”, with smooth, passionate vocals. The Ghanaian rapper M.anifest joins in on the second verse for an impressive feature pointing out the problems both Nigeria and Ghana face.
He fits perfectly on the beat as he raps briefly about how exhausting these problems are, with quotes summing up his verse such as “Less people power / Same shit, Ghana, Naija, man tire”.
The video was perfectly planned for Nigerian Independence Day too, with thought provoking imagery of Burna riding through a village on a horse, surrounded by dead bodies. Burna walks through riots, bloodied symbols of justice and people blindfolded by the effects of tribalism, poverty, violence, greed, among other things. It truly gives more power to an already thought provoking song – but I think this is one that - especially in black history month, deserves its own watch.
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