Key Takeaways:
- Burna Boy and Travis Scott teamed up for “TaTaTa,” a lead single from Burna’s upcoming album, No Sign of Weakness.
- Burna Boy signals a new era, moving beyond his African Giant persona and embracing the next stage of his career.
- With upcoming performances and a new album, it’s going to be a hot summer for the Nigerian star.
Earlier this week, Burna Boy and Travis Scott teamed up for the stylish and high-energy “TaTaTa.” Directed by iconic filmmaker Benny Boom, the official video was set inside a dark, neon-lit warehouse party, where the camera showed a young man enjoying the scene (perhaps too much, as the first few frames seemed to indicate). Sweat-drenched crowd aside, the collaborators appeared cool and composed, enjoying a smoke together at a table and rocking fashion-forward fits.
The single, produced by Nigerian hitmaker Chillz Chilleaux, is the latest in a string of drops leading to Burna Boy’s upcoming eighth studio album, No Sign of Weakness, due July 10. The track followed recent releases like “Bundle by Bundle,” “Sweet Love” and “Update,” each of which highlighted a different facet of Burna’s ever-expanding sound. His blend of Afrobeats, global pop and melodic sensibility remains intact, but with No Sign of Weakness, there’s a deeper evolution at play — one that Burna himself recently addressed head-on.
Burna Boy tells fans to move on from his African Giant era
In a recent Instagram Story, Burna made headlines by declaring that the African Giant persona — the name of his 2019 breakthrough album — is now dead. “His own people killed him,” he wrote. “Then, Big 7 was born to protect what was left of Burna Boy. Burna Boy and Big 7 fight each other a lot because while Big 7 is only protecting the final and only existing piece of Burna Boy’s broken heart, the African Giant still haunts Burna Boy.”
That tension certainly builds on the momentum of his last album, 2023’s I Told Them... The critically acclaimed project featured a wide range of collaborators, including 21 Savage, J. Cole, RZA, and more. I Told Them... debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart, making Burna Boy the first international Afrobeats artist to do so. It also landed him features on year-end best-of lists across the board.
Burna Boy is on one of the biggest international runs of his career
Beyond the album rollout, Burna Boy’s global presence remains undeniable. He recently became the first African artist to headline Stade de France. His collab with Joé Dwèt Filé’s “4 Kampe II” has grown massively popular. He’s also part of the official soundtrack for F1: The Movie, which drops June 27.
On the live front, his European summer dates include shows in Germany this July, plus a slot at the 20th anniversary of London’s Wireless Festival the same month. Simply put, this summer belongs to Burna.