Burna Boy Drags ‘Heaven’s Gate’ With British Pop Singer, Lilly Allen

MICHAEL AKINOLA

Dancehall music sensation, Burna Boy has released the fourth single off his upcoming album ‘Outside’ under Atlantic Records, expected to drop on January 26, 2018.

The song titled Heaven’s Gate features Grammy nominated British pop singer, Lilly Allen.

Heaven’s Gate is a fast tempo song, a departure from Burna Boy’s usual mid-tempo style.

It has a dancehall vibe that permeates the instrumental and Burna Boy’s vocals as he sings in patois.

Injected with Lilly Allen’s peculiar singing style, the new song is a fine blend of cockney vibes and Indian rhythm that gives the song a more diverse appeal.

Burna Boy sings about his preparedness to go to great lengths in defense of everything he holds dear.

He describes himself as the “undisputed heavyweight champion till I’m old and very grey” and declares his willingness to knock on heaven’s gate to protect them.

Produced by Fred Gibson, Heaven’s Gate is accompanied by a colourful video with familial settings.

The video was shot on location in London, United Kingdom and features scenes where a mother cooks and dances in the kitchen and others where a family unwinds in the living room.

These relatable visuals make the video unique and interesting.

Burna Boy, the Afro-fusion singer, songwriter and performing artiste signed to his record label Spaceship Entertainment.

He was born Damini Ogulu in Port Harcourt to parents Bosede and Samuel Ogulu, he is the only son and eldest of three children.

Burna Boy founded and led a band called “Def Code” in his high school days at Corona. He headlined a performance at the national stadium as one of the highlights of the 50^th anniversary of corona schools.

The quest for knowledge took him outside the shores of Nigeria to the United Kingdom to study Media Technology at the University of Sussex from 2008 – 2009 and Oxford Brooke’s University from 2009 – 2010 to study Media Communications and Culture.

Immediately after that, he did a one year internship with Rhythm 93.7 FM Port Harcourt before officially launching his professional music career when he was  signed on to Aristocrat records, prompting a permanent relocation to Lagos.

After having a fairytale year in Port Harcourt, releasing two mix tapes and wining several grass root awards, Burna Boy rose to prominence in 2012 following the release of ‘Like To Party’, the first single off his debut album ‘L.I.F.E’ (Living an Impact for Eternity).

The album had a 19 song tracklist including his mega hits ‘Yawa Dey’, ‘Don Gorgon’ ’Check and Balance’ and ‘Run my Race’.

Following the success of his ‘L.I.F.E’ album, Burna Boy released his sophomore album ‘On a Space Ship’ (OAS) as an announcement of his elevation as an artist.

The 19 track record opens with ‘OluwaBurna’, delivered in his usual pidgin and Yoruba combination.

It’s a direct response to his critics. Produced by Spellz, the song is somewhat a reminiscent of his 2015 hit, ‘Check & Balance’. The album also had his mega hit song ‘Soke’. Following the OAS album, Burna released a 2016 Ep titled ‘Redemption’.

The success of his album and singles earned Burna Boy various awards including Best New Act of the Year Nigeria Entertainment Awards, Best Pop South South Music Awards, Best New Act MTV Africa Music Awards and Album of the Year Nigeria Entertainment Awards.

Burna’s ever changing but unique style of music is seen by many music buffs as having a significant semblance to that of music legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who incidentally was as at a time managed by Burna Boy’s maternal grandfather, the iconic Benson Idonije.

Burna Boy is one of the few figures in the Nigerian music industry with  a distinct voice that evokes memories of many music greats, dead and living, from all over  the world; something that has aided him in his rise to global prominence.

An indigene of  Rivers State, Burna Boy has worked with several A-list Nigerian and  international artists like 2face Idibia, Wizkid, Sarkodie, Phyno, Flavor, Dbanj to mention a few.

He is also known and respected for having some of the most creative and top grade music videos on the African continent.

Song Link:  https://itunes.apple.com/ng/album/outside/1336754556

Video Link:  https://lnk.to/hgvid