konknaijaboy | On 28, Jun 2013

I may never learn the Yoruba language. I am pathetic at learning something new, especially something which isn’t mischievous.

But whenever I hear Burna-Boy, in his music, speaking the Yoruba language, I feel envious and elated, juxtaposing two unlikely traits. When he sings I feel he is saying something poetic and sensually striking. If he were a girl, I would have confessed a lot.

Burn-Boy in his latest music video for the song entitled “Run My Race” gives birth to something appealing, as always. The video I watched while awaiting ‘Run My Race’ is entitled “Tonight” a video that made me want to learn the skill of dancing.

I recall Baba Fela while watching Mr. Burna-Boy’s ‘Run My Race.’ His delivery can only bring back such memory of the King of Afrobeat. And to say there is nothing special about the voice of Burna-Boy, the same voice that compels one to listen intently, even when he is saying a bunch of total rubbish, is to speak a lie. Burna-Boy’s music is original and ‘Run My Race’ didn’t fall short. The elements in the video are contributional to the kind of race Mr. Burna-Boy sings. I commend Clarence Peters for a good job with the video, even though I think he’s been as lazy as I have been of recent. Streets shots, girls, good costumes, ugly bodyguards, cage dance and etcetera, made it worth a while. The fusion of Afrobeat and some Hip-Hop makes the song outstanding.

Listening to the song you would think that Fela has resurrected and has cropped a new fusion into his usual kind of music. The video for Run My Race is a good interpretation.

Nwilo Bura-Bari (Vincent) is the author of Diary of a Stupid Boyfriend