Ada Ada
Blessed“Ada Ada, nwa oma m”
'Ada' is the first daughter of an Igbo family — a title, not just a name. The song praises her as the pride and steadying centre of the household, which is why it is sung at weddings.
Chinedu Izuchukwu Okoli
Flavour
Highlife royalty. Igbo soul. World class.
01 / 05
8
Studio albums
20+
Years on stage
2005
Debut, N'abania
5
Continents toured
The Artist
Highlife, carried forward
Chinedu Izuchukwu Okoli began as a church drummer in Enugu before teaching himself keyboard and stepping to the front of the stage. Two decades on, he is the most recognisable custodian of Igbo highlife — a sound built on interlocking guitars, brass and proverb-rich lyrics, sung in Igbo, English and pidgin.
From N'abania in 2005 to Afroculture in 2025, eight studio albums have carried his sound around the world. The 2026 release Flavour: ORCHESTRATED, with The London Recording Orchestra, brings that repertoire into a new ensemble setting.
Read the biographyDiscography
The albums
N'abania
2005Debut album · 9 tracks
Uplifted
2010Breakthrough album · 15 tracks
Blessed
2012Third album · 18 tracks
Thankful
2014Fourth album · 21 tracks
Ijele The Traveller
2017Fifth album · 17 tracks
Flavour of Africa
2020Sixth album · 16 tracks
African Royalty
2023Seventh album · 12 tracks
Afroculture
2025Latest album · 13 tracks
Around the world
Live highlights
- 27 September 2026Sydney, AustraliaLiberty Hall, Moore ParkCompleted
- 26 September 2026Melbourne, AustraliaNorthcote TheatreCompleted
- 25 September 2026Perth, AustraliaMetro CityCompleted
- 4 September 2026Washington, DC, USAAfro Plus DC FestivalCompleted
For the fans
What the songs mean
Golibe
Thankful“Golibe, golibe”
'Golibe' means rejoice. The verses thank God and family for survival before the chorus hands the room over to dancing.
The crowd
Fan wall
“My parents danced to Ada Ada at their wedding. Twenty years later I danced to it at mine.”
“Saw the London orchestra recording online. Grown men in tears by the second song.”
“Nwa Baby was the first Nigerian song my Ghanaian classmates knew all the words to.”
“Highlife never left. Flavour just kept the door open for the rest of us.”
Frames
Gallery
