Burna Boy gave tastemakers an exclusive first listen of his upcoming studio album Love, Damini at a private event in New York City last night (June 13).
“This is Love, Damini. This is a personal album. Damini is my government name given to me by my beautiful mother,” Burna Boy explained to the crowd at the beginning of the event. “In my dialect it means, ‘It’s mine, like it’s my own,’” he continued.
Comedian Elsa Majimbo, rapper Dave East, CEO of Duke Concept Osita Ugeh, Burna Boy’s mother and manager Bose Ogulu were all in attendance alongside dozens of people that were the first to hear the album in full length.
Love, Damini, which is set to be released on June 30 right ahead of his 31st birthday, will be the Nigerian singer’s sixth studio album. This will be nearly two years after the release of his Grammy award-winning Twice as Tall album. His hit single “Last Last,” which samples Toni Braxton’s 2000 R&B hit “He Wasn’t Man Enough,” appears to be on the album. Burna Boy recently performed this song at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas last month (May).
Ahead of his album release and shortly after his record-setting, sold-out debut concert at Madison Square Garden, Burna Boy announced that he will be hitting the road for his “Love, Damini Tour” this summer. The tour is scheduled to kick off on Sunday, July 17 in Barbados for the city’s Bridgetown Festival. Burna Boy will then head to the United States on Thursday, July 21 at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater in Detroit, and make stops in Minneapolis, Chicago, Boston, Houston, Montreal and more before the tour concludes at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Sunday, July 31.
Below are some more clips from the exclusive album listening event: