Blessed is the third studio album by Nigerian singer Flavour. 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] Blessed 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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 18, 2012 | |||
| Genre | Igbo highlife | |||
| Length | 60:53 | |||
| Label | 2nite Entertainment | |||
| Producer |
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| Flavour chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Blessed | ||||
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Singles
editThe remix of "Kwarikwa", which features vocals by Congolese singer Fally Ipupa, was released as the album's lead single on July 31, 2012. The song's accompanying music video was shot and directed in the United States by Godfather Production. While most of the video was filmed at different residential locations, several sequences with Fally Ipupa were shot in a studio. Masterkraft made a cameo appearance in the video.[3]
The album's second single, "Baby Oku", was released on October 5, 2012. The accompanying music video for the song was filmed in Miami by Antwan Smith. At the beginning of the video, several sky scrapers were shown and the caption "Somewhere off the Coast of Miami" was also shown.
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 on June 30, 2013, along with its music video.[7] The song peaked at number 14 on Afribiz's Top 100 Music Chart.[8] Musically, it 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
editBlessed received mixed reviews from music critics. Ogagus Sakpaide of TooXclusive awarded the album 3.5 stars out of 5, acknowledging Flavour for "taking the bulls by the horn and diving deeper into the ocean of highlife". Conversely, Sakpaide said some critics 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".[1] Tayo acknowledged Flavour for showing dexterity, but ended the review saying the album has "a slight been here-heard that feeling."[1]
Accolades
editBlessed 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]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Baby Oku" | Dekumzy | 3:56 |
| 2. | "Ikwokrikwo" | Masterkraft | 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" | Wizboy | 4:52 |
| 7. | "Ada Ada" | Selebobo | 3:53 |
| 8. | "Destiny" | Wizboy | 4:00 |
| 9. | "Black is Beautiful" | Masterkraft | 3:40 |
| 10. | "Skit" (featuring Waga G, Oloye & Flavour) | 1:37 | |
| 11. | "Ifem N'eli" | M-Jay | 3:27 |
| 12. | "Sweet Tomatoes" | Del B | 3:29 |
| 13. | "I Don't Care" (featuring Wizboy) | Wizboy | 3:26 |
| 14. | "Chewe Kwem" | M-Jay | 3:51 |
| 15. | "Carolina" | M-Jay | 3:36 |
| 16. | "Baby Oku (Dance)" | J Stunt | 3:43 |
| 17. | "Kwarikwa" (featuring Fally Ipupa) | Masterkraft | 3:42 |
| 18. | "Beverly" | Masterkraft | 1:42 |
Release history
edit| Country/Digital platform | Date | Version | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
October 18, 2012 | Standard | 2nite Entertainment |
References
edit- ^ a b c Boye, Don. "ALBUM REVIEW: FLAVOUR – BLESSED "IS THE PRINCE TRULY BLESSED?". TooXclusive. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "ALBUM REVIEW: FLAVOUR – BLESSED "IS THE PRINCE TRULY BLESSED?". tooxclusive.com. TOOXCLUSIVE. October 23, 2012. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- ^ "New Video: Flavour – Shake". Jaguda. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ^ "VIDEO: Flavour – Shake". NotJustOk. Archived from the original on 7 August 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ^ "Flavour – Shake". tooclusive. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ^ "Flavour – Ada Ada [Official Video]". Afrobeat360. Archived from the original on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ "Afribiz Charts - Top 100". Afribiz. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- ^ "Exclusive Video: Flavour – Ada Ada Behind The Scenes". africanmuzikmag. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ^ "NIGERIA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS (NMVA 2013) WINNERS LIST". Tooxclusive. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- ^ "The Headies 2013 - View Nominees List". Notjustok. 5 December 2013. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
- ^ Abimboye, Micheal (31 May 2014). "Pop duo, Skuki, reject Nigerian Entertainment Awards nomination". Premium Times. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.