Outside

Outside is the third studio album by Nigerian singer Burna Boy. It was released on January 26, 2018, through Spaceship Entertainment, Bad Habit and Atlantic Records. The album is the follow-up to his debut extended play Redemption (2016). Described by the singer as a mixtape, Outside consists mostly of Afrobeats, dancehall, reggae and road rap. It features guest vocals from English musicians J Hus, Lily Allen and Mabel. Outside was supported by six singles: "Rock Your Body", "Streets of Africa", "Koni Baje", "Sekkle Down", "Heaven's Gate" and "Ye". Its production was handled by various producers, including Juls, Leriq, P2J, Jae 5, FRED and Phantom. In February 2018, Outside debuted at number three on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. The album received critical acclaim from music critics, who commended its diverse sounds and Burna Boy's versatility. The website Pulse Nigeria and Nigerian Entertainment Today considered Outside to be the best Nigerian album of 2018. Outside won Album of the Year at the 2018 Nigeria Entertainment Awards and was nominated for Best R&B/Pop Album and Album of the Year at The Headies 2019. Background Described by Burna Boy as a mixtape, Outside consists mostly of Afrobeats, dancehall, reggae and road rap. The album features guest vocals from English musicians J Hus, Lily Allen and Mabel. Its production was handled by Leriq, Baba Stiltz, P2J, Jae 5, Juls, Chopstix, Steel Banglez, Fred Gibson, Phantom and FTSE. The album's opener, "More Life", was one of five songs recorded for Drake's playlist of the same name, released on March 18, 2017. However, it was only featured on the outro of More Lifes track "Get It Together". Burna Boy recorded the album's title track "Outside" on Pete Townshend's studio boat. He revealed that "Ye" was unconsciously recorded after a great night out at a Lagos nightclub. On January 21, 2018, Burna Boy held a private listening session for the album at the WeRe House in Lekki, Nigeria. During the session, he talked about the inspiration behind each track on the album. A few days later, he held a second listening session at the Curtain Hotel in London. Composition On the house-influenced interlude "More Life", Burna Boy paints a picture of relaxation and in the drum-infused "Ph City Vibration", he pays homage to his hometown.