Empathy and a Celebration of Burna Boy

You may be asking yourself: “Mitch, is this the weekly roundup coming three days late?” Fuck no it isn’t! To which you may follow up: “So is this, instead, an accumulation of thoughts that have been filling your mind over the last few days, framed in an over-arching celebration of Burna Boy and his greatness?” Fuck, maybe! Probably! Let’s find out!

Per usual, this won’t go into full blown diary levels of personal stories, but it all ties into a lot of reasons as to why I started this blog out in the first place. Plus: What better way to celebrate someone else’s success than by talking about yourself?

So, I am an overly empathetic personal, sometimes to a fault. I had a friend let me know they were experiencing their first real, overwhelming bouts of anxiety. That is something I have a ton of empathy for. In this case, it was to the point that I ended up, in a way, reliving a lot of the very strong emotions I had when I went through my first memorable anxiety attack. I would never wish that feeling on anyone. It’s also worth noting that I do not blame any of these feelings or experiences of mine on anyone else. I would rather go through these damn-near debilitating moments than feel nothing at all, and it always brings me comfort knowing that c0untless others struggle and deal with the same exact things. No one is truly alone, as cliche and lame as that sounds.

So these past few days were extremely unproductive and full of overthinking. That overthinking included the feeling of guilt every time I enjoyed a YouTube video, or a movie, or a few hours of a video game I loved. Why was I doing all of this other shit instead of working on the multiple albums reviews I’ve had on the docket for a few weeks now?

Eventually though, I let myself just enjoy the things I new that deep down I knew I loved. In this way, this feeling of weaponizing this very physical empathy, has become a major tool or goal for me. In fact, it’s the major thought process that helped me start this whole blog in the first place. Yeah, it’s partially so I could ramble and get thoughts onto a page, but it was also to channel a lot of this anxious energy into something positive.

It feels corny as hell, but it’s true when I say that I really feel things. The good and the bad. Very few things can just flow over me and be gone the next moment. It all lingers to some extent, sometimes manifesting into something physical. So, I’ve been doing my damnedest to focus on that positive, water-like energy instead of the negative thoughts that can drag you down into a pool of rapid hardening, apathetic concrete. So in these last few days, coupled with some great news on Sunday, I was able to find those moments of positive respite. This respite came directly from Burna Boy’s music, and his much deserved Grammy win for Best Global Music Album.

Just as I tend to take on the negative emotions of people I care about, and even of those I’ve never met, I have tried everything in my power to put that same amount of effort into celebrating peoples’ accomplishments. That could be a friend getting a new job, a new significant other, or whatever it may be. That goes the same for recognizing and reveling in the positive accomplishments of artists that I respect and admire. Burna Boy is absolutely one of those individuals for me.

His music has always been a shinning light of positivity in my life, and while he should have won his Grammy for his previous album, African Giant, it’s better late than never. It can not only be seen as a massive win himself, but for Africa and Nigeria, as that entire continent has not known a single second of peace and assuredness in all of human history. For a moment like this to possibly give a moment of happiness and pride to a group of people who need it now more than ever is absolutely worth celebrating.

It’s also worth noting exactly how this album won Burna his Grammy, and why that deserves some empathy too. Within his circle of fans, Twice as Tall is not the superior album. It’s too polished; Too clean and sterile sounding. Which I can agree with in most regards. However, the empathy is important when remembering why certain decisions were made. He felt slighted by not getting the win for African Giant. Because of this slight, Burna Boy set out to create the exact album that he knew would win him the award. This is why we get a Chris Martin aided chorus, a Naughty By Nature feature, a host of Nigerian legends on nearly every track, and an album electively produced by fucking Diddy of all people.

It is okay to not see this as his best album. But to take that as some sort of slight against his fanbase would be silly. I may prefer his previous album, but Burna Boy in no way compromised himself as an artist here. Two examples colored the way I see this to perfection: Kevin Durant and Leonardo DiCaprio. When KD left for the Warriors and finally won his rings, it was seen as dirty. In reality, all KD did was realize he wanted to win more than anything in the world, so he put himself in the best spot to do that. Leo knew that the Academy awarded these huge feeling, mythologized types of performances, so he put himself through literal hell in The Revenant.

In the end, both people got what they wanted: The award. The Silverware. The recognition. Even if most admitted it wasn’t truly their most important or impressive work, who really gives a shit at the end of the day. KD’s previous seasons still exist, just as Leo’s pre Revenant films do. That should not influence the level of pride or happiness a fan or admirer has for their overall accomplishments. Just be happy for them. Celebrate them! They’ve worked their assess off and achieved exactly what they set out to do. So in turn, you should celebrate with them too! That is what really being a fan is all about: Not hoping that they someone sill simply give you what you want, but for you to see that artist, athlete, or whoever as a human being who, more often than not, want nothing more than success. Whether that is monetary success, a certain level of recognition, or success through physical awards, they are all valid pursuits.

And that is what brings me to the major point of this all: Let’s fucking celebrate Burna Boy! Below, I’ll link to some of my favorite Burna Boy tracks, mainly ones from his pre Twice as Tall output. It’s starting to get nice out, and a lot of his music is perfect for this time of year.

So, even if it is just for a few minutes or hours, let’s just revel in the success of a fantastic human that I am a massive fan of, and I hope my complimentary words on his behalf have coaxed to join the Burna Bunch. (Shitty name, we aren’t sticking with that I promise. Had to get these puns off, though.)

Tell someone you love them today. Put yourself in someone else shoes. Go get some sun. Smoke a bowl. Have a beer. Hit an especially cathartic workout. Any combination of those work too! Do whatever you’ve got to do to get yourself a little mental break from the unending cycle of bad news, but at the same time, don’t become complacent and accepting of the plight of others. For now let’s focus on a little good news: BURNA BOY IS A FUCKING GRAMMY AWARD WINNING ARTIST. (Another Nigerian artist, Wizkid, won an award for his BROWN SKIN GIRL video as well. Love to Nigeria. A big day for them, and hopefully those feelings of pride and happiness are finding their way back to Africa.)

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