Blessed (Flavour N'abania album)

Blessed is the third studio album by Nigerian singer Flavour N'abania. It was released on October 18, 2012, by 2nite Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Wizboyy and Fally Ipupa. Its production was handled by Masterkraft, Wizzboy, Selebobo, MJay, Del B, J Stunt and Dekumzy.[1] The album was supported by the singles "Kwarikwa (Remix)", "Baby Oku", "Shake", "Chinny Baby" and "Ada Ada".[2] Flavour celebrated the album's release at 2nite, a night club he opened in Enugu State. He invited Tiwa Savage, Iyanya, Kcee and Bracket to attend the club's grand opening.

Blessed
Studio album by Flavour N'abania
Released	October 18, 2012
Genre	Igbo highlife
Length	60:53
Label	2nite Entertainment
Producer	Wizboy Del B Dekumzy MJay Masterkraft J Stunt Selebobo
Flavour N'abania chronology
Uplifted (2010) Blessed (2012) Thankful (2014)
Singles from Blessed
"Kwarikwa (Remix)" Released: July 31, 2012 "Baby Oku" Released: October 5, 2012 (video release) "Shake" Released: December 24, 2012 "Chinny Baby" Released: February 27, 2013 "Ada Ada" Released: June 30, 2013

Singles

The Fally Ipupa-assisted track "Kwarikwa" (Remix) was released on July 31, 2012, as the album's lead single. The song's music video was shot and directed in the United States by Godfather Production. Fally Ipupa's scenes were shot in a studio while the rest of the video was shot at residential locations. Masterkraft also made a cameo appearance in the video.[3]

The album's second single "Baby Oku" was released on October 5, 2012. The music video for the song was shot and directed in Miami by Antwan Smith. At the beginning of the video, several sky scrapers were shown; the caption "Somewhere off the Coast of Miami" was also shown on the screen.

The Del B-produced track "Shake" was released on December 24, 2012, as the album's third single. Its music video was shot in South Africa by Godfather Production.[4][5][6] On February 27, 2013, Flavour released "Chinny Baby" as the album's fourth single. The accompanying music video for the song was shot and directed in Cape Town by Trademark Pictures.

The album's fifth single "Ada Ada" was released simultaneously with its music video on June 30, 2013.[7] It peaked at number 14 on Afribiz's Top 100 Music Chart.[8] The song celebrates traditional weddings across Africa and showcases the beauty of Africa, particularly African women. Nigerian actor John Okafor and reality TV star Nwachukwu Uti made cameo appearances in the video.[9] The music video for "Ada Ada" won Video of the Year, Best High Life Video, Best Indigenous Concept and Best Use of Costumes at the 2013 Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA).[10]

Critical reception

Blessed received mixed reviews from music critics. Ogagus Sakpaide of TooXclusive awarded the album 3.5 stars out of 5, saying Flavour "takes the bulls by the horn by diving deeper into the ocean of highlife with Blessed." Sakpaide also said some people may described the record as "tiresome, beer palour-ish and too eastern".[2] Ayomide Tayo of Nigerian Entertainment Today granted the album 3 stars out of 5, criticizing it for sounding "a tad bit repetitive". Tayo acknowledged Flavour for showing dexterity, but ended the review saying the LP has "a slight been here-heard that feeling."[1]

Accolades

Blessed was nominated for Album of the Year and Best R&B/Pop Album at The Headies 2013.[11] It was also nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.[12]

Year	Awards ceremony	Award description(s)	Results
2014	Nigeria Entertainment Awards	Best Album of the Year	Nominated
2013	The Headies	Album of the Year	Nominated
		Best R&B/Pop Album	Nominated

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Baby Oku"	Dekumzy	3:56
2.	"Ikwokrikwo"		3:42
3.	"Chinny Baby"	Masterkraft	4:04
4.	"Skit by Waga G"		0:11
5.	"Shake"	Del B	3:56
6.	"To Be A Man"		4:52
7.	"Ada Ada"	Selebobo	3:53
8.	"Destiny"		4:00
9.	"Black is Beautiful"		3:40
10.	"Skit" (featuring Waga G, Oloye & Flavour)		1:37
11.	"Ifem N'eli"		3:27
12.	"Sweet Tomatoes"		3:29
13.	"I Don't Care" (featuring Wizboy)	Wizboy	3:26
14.	"Chewe Kwem"		3:51
15.	"Carolina"		3:36
16.	"Baby Oku (Dance)"	J Stunt	3:43
17.	"Kwarikwa" (featuring Fally Ipupa)	Masterkraft	3:42
18.	"Beverly"		1:42

Release history

Country/Digital platform	Date	Version	Format	Label
Nigeria iTunes	October 18, 2012	Standard	CD digital download	2nite Entertainment

References

1. Boye, Don. "ALBUM REVIEW: FLAVOUR – BLESSED "IS THE PRINCE TRULY BLESSED?". TooXclusive. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
2. Tayo, Ayomide. "Blessed: Flavour is a man of many styles [Album Review]". The Net Ng. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
3. "ALBUM REVIEW: FLAVOUR – BLESSED "IS THE PRINCE TRULY BLESSED?". tooxclusive.com. TOOXCLUSIVE. October 23, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
4. "New Video: Flavour – Shake". Jaguda. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
5. "VIDEO: Flavour – Shake". NotJustOk. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
6. "Flavour – Shake". tooclusive. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
7. "Flavour – Ada Ada [Official Video]". Afrobeat360. Archived from the original on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
8. "Afribiz Charts - Top 100". Afribiz. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
9. "Exclusive Video: Flavour – Ada Ada Behind The Scenes". africanmuzikmag. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
10. "NIGERIA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS (NMVA 2013) WINNERS LIST". Tooxclusive. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
11. "The Headies 2013 - View Nominees List". Notjustok. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
12. Abimboye, Micheal (31 May 2014). "Pop duo, Skuki, reject Nigerian Entertainment Awards nomination". Premium Times. Retrieved 1 June 2014.