In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Larry Madowo, VGMA Artiste of the Year Black Sherif provided insight into why he decided to include solely Burna Boy on his first album, “The Villain I Never Was.”
The record, which debuted impressively at number 12 on the Billboard World Albums Chart, has gained attention for both its success on the charts and the 21-year-old’s original artistic decisions.
The singer of “Kweku Frimpong,” who is renowned for his moving narrative and reflective lyrics, claims that he originally intended to work with a variety of singers on his debut album.
However, he ultimately decided against it in order to fully express his individual perspective.
“I think that came during the process of making the album. It was very intense for me at that time where I was in my head. I had the studio right in front of my bed. So when I wake up that’s my studio,” Black Sherif further revealed during the interview “I made so many songs at that time and I felt like, the story I was going to tell I could tell it alone, I had plans of getting features in the album, but making the album and getting to like 70% of the album, I felt I could do it solo, because I had a lot to talk about,” he said.
The album features a famous duet with Nigerian Afrofusion superstar Burna Boy.
According to Black Sherif, their relationship went beyond music and focused on mutual respect and shared creativity.
“It doesn’t even feel real. he first interaction with him it wasn’t about the music. It was the appreciation he made about my sound and it was the thing I do with no filter. It made me feel different about what I do, “ he added.
Speaking on the impact of his music, the “Oil In My Head” singer who was raised in rural Konongo Zong disclosed that he is still in shock over the reach of his songs across the world.
“It’s shocking because even in my neighbourhood in Konongo Zongo, it was only people in my home that knew I could sing and make music,” he added.
