Twice As Tall? It's Your Call.

     Before Twice As Tall began streaming, I had read quite a few reviews - all of them brimming with praise for Burna Boy's latest body of work. Then I listened to the album and I couldn't quite believe my ears. This is it? I wondered aloud to myself and my brother as the album played loudly on the car stereo. But I swallowed my disillusion and decided to listen again. This time, I sat with my headphones and my fingers poised above the keyboard:

1. "Level Up (Twice As Tall)": This track is nuanced: everything from the sampled Pat Boone's "Twice As Tall" intro to the track chorus sang by Youssou N'Dour to Burna's verses. As different as these parts are, the production does a great job of transitioning one to the other with the seamlessness of an orchestra directed by a masterful conductor (in this case, Diddy). With headphones on and genius.com open, this track is an experience, one that leaves you feeling contented.
        But without headphones, the seamless transitions are lost. The track plays like a kaleidoscope of sounds and not in a good way. And without Genius Lyrics, the message falls flat. Burna Boy's enunciation is buried so far beneath the melodic quality of his voice in this track. While he might have gotten away with that on a song like "Ye" or "Anybody," enunciation matters here, and for the first track of the album, "Level Up (Twice As Tall)" could have been better produced.
2. "Alarm Clock": The transition from "Level Up" to "Alarm Clock" is production quality at its finest. But then "Alarm Clock" begins, and it's just weird until Burna shows up around the 35th second and saves this track from being a waste of two minutes.
3. "Way Too Big": When Burna Boy says he is way too cool, way too smart and way too big, you actually believe him, against your better judgement. Maybe it's because he believes it, so it sounds more like #facts than bragging. Or maybe it's because this track lands perfectly with a cool union of Burna's melodic voice and a sweet blend of afro-infused beats and electronic sounds. And oh my gosh, what was that incredible saxophone/guitar solo at the end?  
4. "Bebo": This has been proven over and over, but once again, "Bebo" shows that no one brings the vibe like Burna does. If Burna Boy is trying to pass some deep message in this track though, it is lost beneath the vibe. 
5. "Wonderful": This is, perhaps, my favorite song on the whole album. Although Burna boy has many songs that make you want to dance, "Wonderful" makes you want to twirl around in reckless abandon. There is a kind of breezy, weightless delight to "Wonderful." These are not adjectives one would typically attribute to Burna, but there you have it. There is an unaffected joy that this song brings out, and it's infectious. 
6. "Onyeka (Baby)": I have mixed feelings about this track. I really want to like it, but I don't think even Burna likes this song. It feels just a little empty, except maybe at the beginning of verse two. 
7. "Naughty by Nature": Perhaps the most inspired decision of this entire album was to feature the hip-hop band, Naughty by Nature, on this track. The production blend of hiphop and groovy afro beats was such a pleasure to listen to. But maybe someone should tell Burna Boy that it's okay if someone does not gbadun him. (P.S. Did you guys peep that nursery rhyme addition in the post-chorus? Masterful!).
8. "Comma": Is it just me or is this track hecka problematic? No, you know what? I don't care if it's just me. This song is so problematic, it's not even funny. I'm a little upset that no critic mentioned the misogynistic undertones of this song. Burna Boy claims to be so enlightened and all about "black power," but I guess that power is limited to black men. Because, you know, black girls can have "comma." 
        Maybe I won't be so mad if the examples that he gives in the song, girls with enhanced breasts and unevenly bleached skin, do not stem from deep insecurities and unattainable Western standards of beauty. Burna had a chance on this song to uplift black women, but he goes the opposite direction.
        Two guys writing, producing, and singing a song about the physical flaws of a hypothetical woman who (obviously) cannot defend herself is so indicative of our real world power dynamics that you can't help but wonder how anyone thought this track was okay for release. I could write a whole epistle but let me come down from my soapbox and review the rest of the album. Also, just...thank God for Genius Lyrics. If not, that's how someone will be dancing to rubbish lyrics. 
9. "No Fit Vex": This is one of the most moving tracks of this entire album so far. When Burna sings from his heart, everything changes: The song goes deeper than the vibe. Even his voice changes and you can hear him enunciate almost every syllable. It's human. It's deep. It's liberating and it's Burna Boy at his finest. 
10. "23":  This album is chock-full of lyrics in which Burna Boy proclaims himself as the best, larger than life, and you know, "twice as tall," but on "23," it's different. He's expressing himself and it's beautiful. Plus, the track production is set up so beautifully around his voice that it makes you wonder how good he'd sound on a ballad.  
11. "Time Flies":  Sweet, sweet music, period. 
12. "Monsters You Made": If "Comma" is a misogynistic mess, "Monsters You Made" is a woke work of art. Every time I hear this song, I shiver at the pain and anger in Burna Boy's voice because I know he is merely echoing the pain and anger of a billion other people. 
13. "Wetin Dey Sup": I just...I don't really know what to do with this song. 
14. "Real Life":  The richness of Stormzy's tone is undeniable, but the message of this song is the loudest and most stunning part of this track: an encouragement to really live.
15. "Bank On It": Wow. Just, wow. Everything about this song is a hit: the touching intro, Burna's amazing rhymes, the seamless transitions and that sweet harmony at the end. What a great way to end the album! I can vibe to this song all day and I will. ​

     
 Twice As Tall? You decide.