'No Sign of Weakness’ is Burna Boy’s biggest sign of weakness yet [Review]

After 7 years of huge global success, the Grammy winner intends to show that he has no intentions of slowing down or relinquishing his place as the leading protagonist of African pop music. 

On the album cover art, his mannequins lurked from the corner, each holding signs with the words "Prayer, Resilience, Love, Party, and Endurance" while he sits next to a version of himself playing the therapist.

The cover art conveys the themes that have shaped Burna Boy's career as well as his latest album. It also conveys his decision to subject himself to introspection in a bid to identify and quell all forms of weaknesses.

To drive home this message of no sign of weakness, he takes inspiration from a familiar source - adversity. He reignites old feuds, revisits his complicated relationship with Nigerian fans, and flaunts his global feats while exploring a range of genres with a star-studded supporting cast. 

His mindset is clear on the uptempo chest thumping opener ‘No Panic’ where he asserts his superiority and sends a bold message to his ops including comedian and singer Speed Darlignton and Twitter trolls, which many, including this writer, would consider quite insignificant to stay on top of his mind, so much that they would form the first talking point of his album. 

For Burna Boy, no opposition or disrespect would be left unaddressed. On the heavy hip-hop baseline of ‘No Sign of Weakness’, he continues his assault on his ops with the Nigerian megastar Davido being the target of jabs. 

On the Fuji music-inspired ‘Kabiyesi,’ he dons himself in royal cloaks and demands that he be hailed accordingly in a chest-thumping moment where he shows his mastery of the Yoruba language and why he’s arguably the artist with the most range in the history of Nigerian pop music. 

His flamboyance and display of wealth shape the party starting production ‘Bundle By Bundle’. Even when he shares his sexual desires on ‘Tatata’, which could have used a better hook, it’s with the confidence of a man who can deliver on all fronts. 

His celebration of personal success and triumph reaches a high point on the bouncy ‘Empty Chairs’ where Rolling Stone’s frontman Mick Jagger brings a touch of Rock music that shows Burna Boy’s access and desire to make sophisticated art. The record, however, shines on his writing that revisits moments of pain, failures, and setbacks that have all led up to his packed global shows. 

Even in celebration, he sends a message to the ops looking for empty chairs at his concerts. The message brings to mind the clip shared by veteran music producer Samklef, who mischievously recorded himself sitting at a closed-out section of the hall while Burna Boy was performing the Afronation Miami concert in 2023. 

A man who never forgets, he likely considered that moment an attempt by the ops to find a chink in his armour, and this likely inspired what could have been the strongest song on the album had he not discarded the initial hook for a luxury contribution from Mick Jagger. 

The decision to feature Mick Jagger, Travis Scott, Belgian-French icon Stromae, and Nigerian-American star Shaboozey shows his access to A-list stars and musical icons and also asserts his status as the leading figure in African pop music. Both are intentions the album title conveys. 

The folk feel of ‘Pardon’ featuring Belgian-French icon Stromae caters to the Francophone and European markets, while the Country music-influenced ‘Change Your Mind’ can expand his reach in America through a radio-friendly song that caters to some of the nation’s most dogged fans. 

For most of his career, the Port Harcourt-born singer has always been fine with being the Industry Bad Boy and an Outsider who is easily misunderstood. Ahead of the album, he found himself in a Lamborghini for Sex scandal, which he swiftly turned into music with ‘Dem Dey’, whose freestyle went viral. The final version, however, exposed the emptiness in the record, as unlike ‘Last Last’, where he draws from personal romantic pain to craft a relatable hit, ‘Dem Dey’ has no connectivity, and his bragging feels empty. 

Away from his assault on his ops and his chest thumping, Burna Boy crafts love songs and party jams that cater to market diversity. The Highlife record ‘Buy Your Life’ and the sobriety of ‘Love’, where he addresses human fickleness and shares his desire to embrace self-love, are some of the strongest moments on the album. 

He delivers a delightful track with ‘28 Grams’ where he taps into Konto (a Nigerian dancehall-inspired sub-genre) bounce to pay homage to the euphoric grass that has formed the subject of several other iconic songs.

The pre-released Reggae record ‘Sweet Love’, where he plays the romantic, and the funkiness of ‘Update’ are also some of the better tracks. 

However, this collection of good songs and star-studded guest features doesn’t save the album from its scatterbrained track listing and the obvious weakness in Burna Boy’s writing and delivery. 

The scatterbrained nature of the album is itself a shocking weakness from an artist whose albums are often carefully curated. The lack of a strong run across all 17 tracks also keeps the album in a state of false start. 

The uptempo ‘Tatata’ where he lists a week-long itinerary of sexual escapades, his placed between mid-tempo tracks ‘Love’ and ‘Come Gimme’. He places the bouncy ‘Dem Dey’ where he owns up to playing a fast one to get his way sexually next to the calm reggae joint ‘Sweet Love’. Then the electricity of ‘Kabiyesi’ curiously segues into ‘Empty Chairs’ when ‘Update’ would have been the better follow-up. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, he places the folk feel of ‘Pardon’ next to the club banger ‘Bundle By Bundle’, which is followed by the country-influenced ‘Change Your Mind’. 

This arrangement exposes the weakness in several songs and reduces the experience of the better ones. They are slip-ups that are unbecoming of a Burna Boy album.

On songs like ‘Dem Dey’, ‘Come Gimme’, and 'Bundle By Bundle’, his vocals lack vigor, and his delivery appeared fatigued when juxtaposed with similar records in his discography. He doesn’t appear to have much to say, nor does he have the vigour or creative elasticity to find new ways to share the familiar thoughts he has shared across his last four albums. 

This album is his weakest in 7 years; it’s also ironically his biggest sign of weakness yet. 

The slip-ups in the project show the inevitable strain dominating for 7 years without a breather can have on even the most gifted stars. Burna Boy prides himself on being able to do it alone, but no star that dominates at that level can consistently churn out great projects without some help. 

For Burna Boy, assistance could mean a weakness, which he leaves no room for. 

However, some of the things he regards as weaknesses are the tendency to show that he, too, is human after all. The desire to be loved. The need to use his success to gloat over a Nigerian ecosystem with which he has a complicated relationship. Finding inspiration in adversity, whether real or imagined. And the inevitable burnout that comes from nearly a decade of utter domination. 

Sometimes, even the best need some help.

• 0-1.9: Flop

• 2.0-3.9: Near fail

• 4.0-5.9: Average

• 6.0-7.9: Victory

• 8.0-10: Champion

Pulse Rating: /10

Album Sequencing: 1.1/2

Songwriting, Themes, and Delivery: 1.4/2

Production: 1.5/2

Enjoyability and Satisfaction: 1.4/2

Execution: 1.2/2

TOTAL - 6.7