Sean “Diddy” Combs has been tapped to executive-produce Burna Boy’s forthcoming album, Twice As Tall.
In an interview with The New York Times, the Nigerian recording artist spoke about the LP, which is set to be released on Aug. 13.
“I’ve never picked up a pen and paper and written down a song in my life,” he said. “It all just comes, like someone is standing there and telling me what to say. It’s all according to the spirits. Some of us are put on this earth to do what we do.”
For his new LP, Burna Boy said that he is “continuing the mission I started, which is building a bridge that leads every Black person in the world to come together, and to make you understand that without you having a home base, you can’t be as strong as you are.”
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Most of the album was recorded during the pandemic.
Burna Boy and Diddy managed to collaborate over an eight-hour time difference via file transfers and Zoom calls.
Diddy was able to create voice-over intros for some of the tracks and added musical and contributions from artists such as Anderson .Paak and Timbaland.
“I’m on record that I like hit records. If they’re not hit records, I don’t like them,” Diddy said.
“A lot of times when an artist wants to be coached or pushed to maybe a greater level, that’s where I’ve come in.”
He continued, “He, as every artist, he wants his music to be heard by the world. He doesn’t care about crossing over. You know, he’s not trying to get hot. He’s not, like, ‘I want to be a big pop star’ — he’s already a star. He wants his music to be heard, his message, his people.”
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Almost 80 percent of the album was completed before Diddy was brought in to provide “fresh ears” to the project. The mega-producer says the LP is “a modern but pure, unapologetic African body of work.”
“The thing that I learned about him is the importance of what he’s doing for his nation and representing the people that aren’t really heard globally,” he said.
“Through this album, I think it’s important for Africa to be heard. And so it’s bigger than just an album. He’s not just on a musical artist trip. He’s a revolutionary. His conviction is serious.”
Make sure you check out Twice As Tall on all streaming platforms on Aug. 13.