The massive widely acclaimed fifth studio album of global music superstar, Afrofusion pioneer Burna Boy, TWICE AS TALL is a year old and it would be an error of Shakespearean proportions not to celebrate the incredible achievements of this phenomenal body of work.
Released on August 14, 2020 by Spaceship Entertainment, Atlantic Records and Warner Music in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the groundbreaking TWICE AS TALL album proved an immediate sensation, earning more than 5M worldwide streams within its first hour of release. Fueled by singles as “Wonderful,” “Monsters You Made (Feat. Chris Martin), “ Real Life (Feat. Stormzy),” and “23,” TWICE AS TALL; which features additional collaborations with Youssou N’Dour, Sauti Sol, and Naughty by Nature; has over the last year, garnered staggering acclaim and appreciation for its eclecticism, adroitness and most especially, it’s authentically rich nature.
Across the African continent in the past year, the streaming numbers of the TWICE AS TALL album were at its highest, starting with Spotify with 5,691,756 downloads, Apple with 61,063,989, Deezer with over 6million listens, Audiomack, 170,000,000 and Boomplay with an incredible 60million, totaling over 300million listens and download. Debuting at #1 on Billboard’s “US World Albums” chart while receiving unprecedented worldwide critical acclaim, The Twice As Tall album chart performance has been monumental, peaking at a record #2 on UK Top Hip-hop/R&B Albums (OCC), #5 on UK Album Streaming (Official Charts Company), #10 on Dutch Albums (Album Top 100), #11 on UK Albums (OCC), #12 on both UK Album Downloads (Official Charts Company) & Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade), #19 Canadian Albums (Billboard), #22 on Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders & Wallonia) and #29 on French Albums (SNEP).
Among its countless accolades, TWICE AS TALL received the 2021 GRAMMY Award for “Best Global Music Album,” having already made history as the first time a Nigerian artist received back-to-back nominations in the category (following 2019’s GRAMMY Award-nominated AFRICAN GIANT). Furthermore, the African giant’s TWICE AS TALL album was named among 2020’s very best by a wide span of global publications, including The New York Times who said “Burna Boy Has the Whole World Listening”, GQ Magazine raved: “With his latest album, Twice As Tall, Burna Boy has outgrown his title of ‘African Giant’ and is taking on the world”. Pitchfork wasn’t left out: “The Nigerian superstar’s latest LP can feel heavy under the weight of his personal reflection and Pan-African crusade. It is a load worth carrying.” According to The Guardian, “Twice as Tall positions African music in the 21st century by using contemporary sounds for traditional melodies and rhythms.”
While Essence said “Burna Boy’s ‘Twice As Tall’ Is Repeat Worthy”, The Pulse NG breathed: “On ‘Twice As Tall,’ Burna Boy reawakens and gets personal on a quest for the Grammys”. According to Afrobeats Intelligence: “How does Pan-Africanism intersect with redeeming ‘Black love’? The Nigerian hero’s latest LP holds the answer.”
In one year, the landmark achievements of Burna Boy’s TWICE AS TALL album have been innumerable, ranking #1 on Bounce Radio Live’s 50 Best African Albums of 2020, #2 on Native Magazine’s 20 Best Albums of 2020, #7 on The New York Times’ top 10 Albums of 2020, #8 on Vogue India’s 20 Best Albums of 2020, #12 on Passion of the Weiss’ POW Best Albums of 2020, #16 on British GQ’s 24 Best Albums of 2020. Ranked #21 on Vice’s 100 Best Albums of 2020 and #23 on both The Fader’s 50 Best Albums of 2020 and NME’s 50 Best Albums of 2020, the Twice As Tall project made it to #24 on NJ.com’s 50 Albums that saved us from 2020, #37 on Consequence of Sound’s top 50 Albums of 2020, #44 on Uproxx’s top 50 Albums of 2020 and #46 on Pitchfork’s 50 Best Albums of 2020.
Sharing his joy about the trailblazing achievements of the album, Burna Boy raves: “TWICE AS TALL IS 1 TODAY!! I’m super thankful because the journey this past year has just been crazy especially in light of the Covid-19 situation but you guys made it all worth it. You’ve become family and we’ve made history together!”
In a ten year crusade to the top of the African Music mountain in what has been an unrelenting, unforgiving and unapologetic mission to put Nigerian music on the global platform, Burna Boy has established himself as an artiste capable of blending sounds, styles and cultures to create music that encompasses a better world.