Flavour N'abania
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Chinedu Okoli (born 23 November 1983), better known by his stage name Flavour N'abania or simply Flavour, is a
Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...
singer and songwriter. He began his musical career as a drummer for a local church. Flavour is popularly known across Africa and the world for his hit song " Nwa Baby (Ashawo Remix)". He is currently signed to 2nite Entertainment. In 2005, he released his self-titled debut album '' N'abania''. In 2010, Flavour released his second studio album, '' Uplifted''. It was supported by the singles " Nwa Baby (Ashawo Remix)", "Adamma", and " Oyi Remix". The album's success made Flavour one of Africa's most sought out artists. He was booked to perform at numerous concerts and social events following ''Uplifted''s release.


Early life

Flavour, who is well known for his ability to sing fluently in the
Igbo language Igbo ( , ; Standard Igbo: ''Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò'' ) is the principal native language cluster of the Igbo people, an ethnicity in the Southeastern part of Nigeria. Igbo languages are spoken by a total of 31 million people. The number of Igbo ...
, was born in Enugu State, southeastern region of
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. His family is originally from Umunze in Orumba South LGA, Anambra State, southeast Nigeria. Flavour began his music career at the age of 13 when he started playing the drums for his
church choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
in Enugu, in Enugu State. The resident pastor at his church introduced him to a friend, Chris I. Ordor, the CEO of SoundCity Communications. In 1996, Flavour was invited to join the company on an educational scholarship to study music. After three years of playing the drums, Flavour started playing the drums professionally. In 1999, he moved on from playing the drums and started playing the keyboard. He also used to provide back-up vocals for other musicians at SoundCity.


Career


Career beginnings

At age 19, Flavour emerged into Nigeria's musical scene as a drummer and pianist for a local band in Enugu. After learning to play drums professionally, Flavour received an offer to perform at City Centre, Enugu. The massive crowd there inspired him to gain new grounds and reach great heights. Flavour's educational background in music enabled him to learn music production from Dekumzy, Isi Charles and Nnachie.


2008: ''N'abania''

In 2008, Flavour released his debut album '' N'abania'' through Obaino Music. The album's success was relative and limited to Eastern Nigeria, particularly Enugu State. Flavour collaborated with Mr Raw on the album's lead single titled "N'abania". The song was recorded at Kingsley Ogoro's music studio in Lagos, Nigeria.


2010: ''Uplifted''

Following the relative success of his debut album, Flavour released '' Uplifted'' in 2010. The album broke national barriers. Lolhiphop Records, an established record label in South Africa, released the album after popular demand. The album's top singles include " Nwa Baby (Ashawo Remix)", "Adamma", and Oyi Remix" featuring
Tiwa Savage Tiwatope Omolara Savage (born 5 February 1980), known professionally as Tiwa Savage (), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. Savage sings in English, Nigerian Pidgin and Yoruba; her music is a blend of afrobeats, R&B, afropop, p ...
.


2012: ''Blessed''

Flavour's third album, '' Blessed'', was released on 18 October 2012 through 2nite Entertainment and iROKING LTD. The album is the successor to ''Uplifted''. It is arguably Flavour's biggest album to date due to the number of producers who worked on it. It was launched on the same day of Flavour's 2nite Club grand opening. In an interview with iROKOTV, Flavour said: "I think I'm growing. This is my third album... Now it's time to give them the music, like define myself. I have to be more mature with my music, lyrics and instrumentation wise. I worked with tons of producers and the whole production process made sense."


2014: ''Thankful''

''Thankful'' was released in December 2014. The album consists of 22 tracks and runs for one hour seventeen minutes. Receiving generally positive reviews from music critics, it sold thousands of copies. The album features hit tracks such as the love ballad "Ololufe" featuring Chidinma and the fast-tempo Afro-pop song "Wake Up" feat.
Wande Coal Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe (born 18 October 1985), popularly known as Wande Coal, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Early life Wande Coal was born on 18 October 1985 in Lagos Island, Lagos state, Nigeria, to Chief Ibukun Olufunto and Omolara ...
.


2017: ''Ijele – The Traveler''

''Ijele – The Traveller'' was released in 2017. The album contains 17 tracks, including one featuring Flavour's adopted son Semah G Weifur, a blind Liberian child who was spotted singing alone in a classroom,.


2018

In 2018 Flavour issued two singles, "Crazy love", joining forces with Mama Africa Yemi Alade as Flavour Nabania, and "Yemi Alade". Later that year, he released the traditional song "Awele", featuring the Igbo traditional duo Umu Obiligbo.


2020

On December 4 2020, Flavour released his seventh studio album, titled '' Flavour of Africa'', which has 16 tracks.


Controversy

On 29 August 2012, ''
Nigerian Entertainment Today The Netng (Nigerian Entertainment Today) also known as ''NET'' is an online entertainment news organisation based in Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estima ...
'' reported that Flavour was involved in a legal battle with Ghanaian duo Wutah, over the alleged theft of "Kwarikwa". According to the article, "Kwarikwa" is an exact replica of "Kotosa", a song made by the aforementioned duo. The singing duo accused Flavour of stealing their song's rhythm, chorus, and
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
.


Discography

Studio albums * '' N'abania'' (2005) * '' Uplifted'' (2010) * '' Blessed'' (2012) * '' Thankful'' (2014) * '' Ijele the Traveler'' (2017) * '' Flavour of Africa'' (2020)


Videography


Awards and nominations


See also

* List of Nigerian musicians


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flavour Igbo-language singers Living people 1983 births Musicians from Enugu State Nigerian male singer-songwriters 21st-century Nigerian singer-songwriters The Headies winners Nigerian drummers Nigerian guitarists Nigerian hip-hop singers Igbo highlife musicians 21st-century guitarists 21st-century Swedish drummers 21st-century Nigerian male singers