Love, Damini

Love, Damini is the sixth studio album by Burna Boy. It was released on 8 July 2022 through Atlantic Records. The album features guest appearances from Ladysmith Black Mambazo, J Hus, Vict0ny, Popcaan, Blxst, Kehlani, Ed Sheeran, J Balvin, and Khalid. It was supported by two singles, "Kilometre" and "Last Last". The album is named after Burna Boy's legal first name and serves as the follow-up to his previous album, Twice as Tall (2020).

Love, Damini
Studio album by Burna Boy
Released	8 July 2022 (2022-07-08)
Genre	Afro-fusion[1]
Length	60:34
Language	English Nigerian Pidgin Yoruba Spanish Zulu
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Amilcar Smith Anju Blaxx ATG Blxst Chopstix The Elements FnZ Jae5 BKH Beats Jon Bellion Kel-P Kvng Vinci MdS The Monsters & Strangerz Off & Out P2J Ruuben Skread Telz
Burna Boy chronology
Twice as Tall (2020) Love, Damini (2022) I Told Them... (2023)
Singles from Love, Damini
"Last Last" Released: 13 May 2022 "For My Hand" Released: 11 July 2022

Singles

One song from the album, "Kilometre", was released as an independent single on 29 April 2021.^[2] Another single, "Last Last", was released on 13 May 2022, along with the announcement of the album.^[3] The second single "For My Hand" featuring Ed Sheeran, was released on 8 July 2022 and coincided with the release of the album.^[4]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Clash	8/10[7]
The Daily Telegraph	[8]
The Guardian	[9]
NME	[10]
Pitchfork	6.7/10[11]

Love, Damini received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 80 based on 10 reviews.^[5] Kathleen Johnston of The Daily Telegraph awarded it a five star rating, saying "Love Damini is by far the most personal record yet from Burna and is best summarized as a love letter to his adoring fans, it is an album for the ages, as well as being an awards season shoo-in."^[12] Will Dukes of Rolling Stone said "it is an urgent, heartfelt, and immensely personal snapshot of his struggles, triumphs, and aspirations, with the vibe and chorus signifying a bond between past and present perfectly embodied by this worldly album—that feels instantly rewarding."^[13]

Robin Murray in his review for Clash wrote that on Love Damini, Burna is at his best either holding it down for his lineage pushing traditional sounds forward or tracing African influence beyond its shores.^[7] Marcus Shorter writing for Consequence said "Love Damini delivers like an 80-pound baby, the Afrobeats album gets into the soul with Burna’s typical flair, but the insights are deeper as he wrestles with his desires, sins, triumphs, and treasures while entering the next phase of his life".^[14] Jessica Kariisa in her review for Pitchfork said: "Glaring errors keep Love, Damini from reaching the heights of Burna Boy's prior work, but his intentions are admirable even when the execution goes awry. [...] Whatever its failings, Love, Damini paves the way for other artists in the scene to take bigger emotional risks".^[15]

Track listing

Love, Damini track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Glory" (featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo)	Damini Ogulu James Johnson Keven Wolfsohn Mike Stokes Paul Goller	The Elements	3:51
2.	"Science"	Ogulu Richard Isong	P2J	3:21
3.	"Cloak & Dagger" (featuring J Hus)	Ogulu Momodou Jallow Alli Odunayo	Telz Danitello MdS	3:31
4.	"Kilometre"	Ogulu James Olagundoye	Chopstix	2:32
5.	"Jagele"	Ogulu Kelvin Peters	Kel-P	3:02
6.	"Dirty Secrets"	Ogulu Judd Isong	P2J	2:31
7.	"Whiskey"	Ogulu Gaetan Judd Marco Bernardis Isong	P2J	3:23
8.	"Last Last"	Ogulu LaShawn Daniels Harvey Mason Jr. Fred Jerkins III Rodney Jerkins Mikael Haataja Samuel Haataja Olagundoye Santeri Kauppinen Robert Laukkanen	Off & Out Chopstix MdS Ruuben	2:52
9.	"Different Size" (featuring Vict0ny)	Ogulu Anthony Victor Adedotun Adedeji Jae Il Jung	Kvng Vinci	3:29
10.	"It's Plenty"	Ogulu Wolfsohn Goller Jonathan Awotwe-Mensah	The Elements Jae5	3:36
11.	"Toni-Ann Singh" (featuring Popcaan)	Ogulu Andrae Sutherland Andrew Myrie Amilcar Smith	Anju Blaxx Smith	2:55
12.	"Solid" (featuring Blxst and Kehlani)	Ogulu Matthew Burdette Kehlani Parrish Ashton Sellars	Blxst BKH Beats Sellars[c]	3:15
13.	"For My Hand" (featuring Ed Sheeran)	Ogulu Ed Sheeran Isong	P2J	2:39
14.	"Rollercoaster" (featuring J Balvin)	Ogulu José Osorio Balvin Matthieu Le Carpentier	Skread	3:07
15.	"Vanilla"	Ogulu Alexander Ogunmokun	ATG	2:35
16.	"Common Person"	Ogulu Odunayo	Telz	3:30
17.	"Wild Dreams" (featuring Khalid)	Ogulu Khalid Robinson Odunayo Jonathan Bellion Jordan K. Johnson Stefan Johnson Michael Pollack	The Monsters & Strangerz Jon Bellion Telz[a]	3:06
18.	"How Bad Could It Be"	Ogulu Odunayo Michael Mule Isaac DeBoni Rory Noble	FnZ Noble[a]	4:57
19.	"Love, Damini" (featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo)	Ogulu Jeff Kleinman Michael Uzowuru	Kleinman Uzowuru	2:22
Total length:				60:34

Notes

• ^{^[a]} indicates an additional producer
• ^{^[c]} indicates a co-producer
• "Last Last" contains a sample of "He Wasn't Man Enough", performed by Toni Braxton.
• "Different Size" contains audio sampled from the Korean version of "Squid Game".
• Initial CD pressings do not contain J Hus's verse on "Cloak & Dagger", feature "Dirty Secrets" as track 10, and do not include "Toni-Ann Singh".^[16]

Personnel

Musicians

• Burna Boy – vocals
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo – additional vocals (tracks 1, 19)
• Oise Benson – additional vocals (1)
• Gaetan Judd – guitar (2)
• Marco Bernardis – saxophone (2)
• Akerele Samson – background vocals (7)
• Asake – background vocals (7)
• Kwande Bawa – background vocals (7, 9)
• Olusola Ogundipo – background vocals (7)
• Jonathan Awotwe-Mensah – background vocals (9)
• Keven Wolfsohn – background vocals (9)
• Paul Bogumil – background vocals (9)
• Uncle T – background vocals (9)
• Tony Mars – saxophone (15)
• Nissi Ogulu – additional vocals (16)
• Shuga Saund – guitar (16)
• Jon Bellion – backing vocals, instruments, programming (17)
• Jordan K. Johnson – backing vocals, instruments, programming (17)
• Stefan Johnson – backing vocals, instruments, programming (17)
• Michael Pollack – backing vocals (17)
• David Campbell – conductor, orchestral arrangement (17)
• Steve Churchyard – orchestration (17)
• Jacob Braun – cello (17)
• Paula Hochhalter – cello (17)
• Ross Gasworth – cello (17)
• Dylan Hart – French horn (17)
• Pierre-Luc Rioux – guitar (17)
• Thomas Hooten – trumpet (17)
• Andrew Duckles – viola (17)
• David Walther – viola (17)
• Charlie Bisharat – violin (17)
• Joel Pargman – violin (17)
• Josefina Vergara – violin (17)
• Kerenza Peacock – violin (17)
• Mario De Leon – violin (17)
• Michele Richards – violin (17)
• Neil Samples – violin (17)
• Sara Parkins – violin (17)
• Sarah Thornblade – violin (17)
• Jorja Smith – additional vocals (18)
• Kamaru Usman – additional vocals (18)
• Naomi Campbell – additional vocals (18)
• Swizz Beatz – additional vocals (18)
• Dunni Alexandra Lawal – background vocals (18)

Technical

• Gerhard Westphalen – mastering
• Jesse Ray Ernster – mixing (all tracks), recording (3)
• The Elements – recording (1)
• P2J – recording (2, 10, 13)
• Eric Isaac Utere – recording (3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14)
• Chopstix – recording (4, 7)
• Kel-P – recording (5)
• Otis Milestone – recording (12, 18, 19)
• ATG - recording (15)
• Telz – recording (16)
• Joe Begalla – mixing assistance
• Noah "MixGiant" Glassman – mixing assistance

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Love, Damini

Chart (2022)	Peak position
Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA)[17]	2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18]	24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19]	29
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[20]	6
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[21]	8
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22]	2
French Albums (SNEP)[23]	17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24]	61
Irish Albums (OCC)[25]	23
Nigerian Albums (TurnTable)[26]	3
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[27]	6
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28]	12
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29]	6
UK Albums (OCC)[30]	2
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[31]	1
US Billboard 200[32]	14
US World Albums (Billboard)[33]	2

Year-end charts

2022 year-end chart performance for Love, Damini

Chart (2022)	Position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[34]	84
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[35]	11
French Albums (SNEP)[36]	164

2023 year-end chart performance for Love, Damini

Chart (2023)	Position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[37]	18
French Albums (SNEP)[38]	167

Certifications

Certifications for Love, Damini

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[39]	Gold	40,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[40]	Platinum	20,000‡
France (SNEP)[41]	Gold	50,000‡
Netherlands (NVPI)[42]	Gold	20,000‡
Nigeria (TCSN)[43]	5× Platinum	250,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[44]	Gold	15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[45]	Gold	100,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of UK R&B Albums Chart number ones of 2022

References

1. "Burna Boy Pushes Afro-Fusion Pop Into the Future With Love, Damini". Variety. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
2. Blistein, Jon (29 April 2021). "Burna Boy Reflects on How Far He's Come on New Song 'Kilometre'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
3. Zemler, Emily (13 May 2022). "Burna Boy Samples Toni Braxton on New Single 'Last Last'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
4. Kaufman, Gil (8 July 2022). "Burna Boy and Ed Sheeran Take Magical Elevator Ride in Search of Love in 'For My Hand' Video". Billboard. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
5. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
6. Monger, Timothy. "Burna Boy – Love, Damini Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
7. Murray, Robin (8 July 2022). "Burna Boy – Love, Damini". Clash. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
8. McCormick, Neil (8 July 2022). "Neil Young revisits marital woe, James Righton creates a lockdown alter ego – the week's best albums". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
9. "Burna Boy: Love, Damini review – heartfelt sixth album". The Guardian. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
10. Williams, Kyann-Sian (8 July 2022). "Burna Boy – 'Love, Damini' review: an eclectic, emotional exploration of afro-pop". NME. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
11. Kariisa, Jessica (13 July 2022). "Burna Boy: Love, Damini Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
12. "Neil Young revisits marital woe, James Righton creates a lockdown alter ego -- the week's best albums". The Daily Telegraph. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
13. "Burna Boy Guides Us Through His Triumphs and Struggles on Love, Damini". Rolling Stone. 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
14. "On Love, Damini, Burna Boy Asks If He Can Have Love and Save the World, Too". Consequence. 7 July 2022.
15. Kariisa, Jessica (13 July 2022). "Burna Boy: Love, Damini Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
16. Burna Boy (2022). Love, Damini (Media notes). Atlantic Records. 075678632020.
17. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 18 July 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1689. Australian Recording Industry Association. 18 July 2022. p. 24.
18. "Ultratop.be – Burna Boy – Love, Damini" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
19. "Ultratop.be – Burna Boy – Love, Damini" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
20. "Burna Boy Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
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22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Burna Boy – Love, Damini" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
23. "Lescharts.com – Burna Boy – Love, Damini". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
24. "Offiziellecharts.de – Burna Boy – Love, Damini" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
25. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
26. "Nigeria Top 50 Albums". www.turntablecharts.com. TurnTable. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
27. "Norwegiancharts.com – Burna Boy – Love, Damini". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
28. "Swedishcharts.com – Burna Boy – Love, Damini". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
29. "Swisscharts.com – Burna Boy – Love, Damini". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
31. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
32. "Burna Boy Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
33. "Burna Boy Chart History (World Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
34. "Album Top-100 2022". Hitlisten. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
35. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2022". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2023.
36. "2022: La production musicale française toujours au top" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
37. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2023". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 January 2024.
38. "2023: La dynamique de la production et de la consommation musicales en France" (in French). SNEP. 8 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
39. "Canadian album certifications – Burna Boy – Love, Damini". Music Canada. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
40. "Danish album certifications – Burna Boy – Love, Damini". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
41. "French album certifications – Burna Boy – Love, Damini" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
42. "Dutch album certifications – Burna Boy – Love, Damini" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 3 March 2023. Enter Love, Damini in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2022 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
43. "Burna Boy Makes History With 11 Plaques: A Triumph In Nigeria's Music Industry". www.turntablecharts.com.
44. "Sverigetopplistan – Burna Boy" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
45. "British album certifications – Burna Boy – Love Damini". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 December 2023.