For his musical accomplishments powered by sheer self-belief which enabled him to move from a 13-year old greenhorn into a towering, inspirational figure in Nigeria and Africa’s music industry, Chinedu Izuchukwu Okoli, better known by his stage name – Flavour N’abania, is The Authority Icon.
He is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and performer well known for his ability to sing fluently in Igbo language. He began his music career at the age of 13 when he started playing the drums for his church choir in Enugu. As most children of providence do, he quickly blossomed into a star, today shining brightly in Nigeria and on the continent. Meet Chinedu Izuchukwu Okoli, better known by his stage name – Flavour N’abania.
He was born on November 23, 1983, in Enugu. He is the first son of a large family consisting of four siblings and seven step siblings. At the outset, his family was not very fond of his musical ambitions. He nevertheless began his music career at the age of 13 when he started playing the drums for his church choir in Enugu. The resident pastor at his church introduced him to a friend, Chris I Ordor, the CEO of SoundCity Communications.
Mr. Ordor had just started a musical company aimed at training young musicians on the basics of music and nurturing them all the way to a professional level. 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 backing vocals for other musicians at SoundCity.
At the age of 19, he emerged unto Nigeria’s musical scene as a drummer and pianist for a local Enugu band. After learning to play drums professionally, Flavour received an offer to perform at City Centre, Enugu. The massive crowd at City Centre 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.
In 2005, he released his self- titled debut album, N’abania. In 2010, he 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 him one of Africa’s most sought after artists. He was booked to perform at numerous concerts and social events following Uplifted’s release.
Following the relative success of his debut album, Flavour released Uplifted in 2010. While working on the album, Flavour believed the album would surpass his previous works. Flavour’s projection came true when 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.
Blessed was released on 18 October 2012 through 2nite Entertainment and iROCKING LTD. The album is the successor to Uplifted. It is arguably Flavour’s biggest album to date due to the amount of producers that worked on it. It was launched on the same day of Flavour’s 2nite Club grand opening. [6] In an interview with iROKTV, 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.”
Thankful was released in December 2014. With 22 tracks and running for one hour, seventeen minutes, Thankful features hit tracks such as “Ololufe” featuring Chidinma, Flavour tries his hand on a mellow love duet.
Flavour currently lives in Lagos.
