Ijele the Traveler

Ijele the Traveler
Ijele the Traveler
Studio album by Flavour
Released	27 June 2017
Genre	Afropop; Igbo highlife; reggae; trap; gospel;
Length	63:51
Language	Igbo; English; Pidgin;
Label	2nite Entertainment
Producer	Flavour; Masterkraft; Del B; Jaystuntz; Selebobo; Cobhams Asuquo; Tekno; Young John; Illkeyz; Kezyklef;
Flavour chronology

Ijele the Traveler is the fifth studio album by Nigerian musician Flavour. The album was released on 27 June 2017 by 2nite Entertainment, and features guest appearances from Sarkodie, Zoro, Terry Apala, Phyno, Chidinma, and Semah G. Weifur. The production was handled by Masterkraft, Tekno, Young John, Del B, Jaystuntz, Cobhams Asuquo, Illkeyz, Kezyklef, and Flavour himself. Ijele the Traveler follows Flavour's fourth studio album Thankful (2014).

Composition

Ijele the Traveler incorporates elements of Igbo highlife while drawing on Afropop, reggae, trap, and gospel influences. Igbo masquerade culture, with its Ijele Masquerade, significantly influences the album. The opening track, “Virtuous Woman”, is a guitar ballad in which Flavour describes his ideal partner through both English and Igbo lyrics. The track has been said to be reminiscent of past songs "Ada Ada" and "Golibe".^[1] "Baby Na Yoka" combines reggaeton with highlife, while “Sake of Love” features Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie over a mid-tempo Afropop beat built on drums and guitar riffs.^[2]

The Tekno-produced "Catch You" is a mid-tempo song with piano, guitar, and drum patterns that includes a reference to Fela Kuti's "Lady". The Phyno-produced "Loose Guard" contains playful food metaphors over a flute-led beat by Young John.^[3] The title track, "Ijele", with Zoro, incorporates folk elements such as ọjà playing and popular Igbo chants. Other tracks explore different sounds: "Body Calling" uses a trap-influenced EDM production and features Terry Apala, "Ukwu Nwata" retains highlife guitar riffs and Afro drum samples, and "Chimamanda" adapts gospel choruses into a praise song. The closing track, "Most High", features Semah G. Weifur, Flavour's adoptive son, on a soft-rock inspired duet recorded after the two met in Monrovia.^[2]^[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Pulse Nigeria	^[2]
tooXclusive	^[5]
Filter Free	72%^[6]

In a review for 360nobs, Wilfred Okiche found the album as a record where Flavour leaned on highlife roots and recycled ideas, but too often diluted his sound to please everyone. He concluded, "On Ijele the Traveler, Flavour is on a journey all right, but it is one that does not lead anywhere just yet."^[1] On the contrary, Jim Donnett of tooXclusive praised Ijele the Traveler for Flavour's consistency, dance-driven highlife sound, and strong collaborations, while noting some weaker tracks and thematic disconnects. He concluded, “Basically, hearing Flavour on this new album as he weighs in elements from the basics that formed his musical purpose, is such a basking joy" and gave it a 3.5/5.^[5]

Oris Aigbokhaevbolo, writing for Music in Africa, said the album mixed "flesh and faith" while drawing on nostalgia for "ancient Igbo highlife," but criticized it as "a kind of greatest hits collection" where Flavour had "slipped to formula." He concluded it was "an unoriginal trip" that was "not boring," though it "teeters close to failure of the imagination."^[7] Pulse Nigeria's Joey Akan saw Ijele the Traveler as a record where Flavour stuck to his familiar highlife formula, blending folk, romance, and mainstream influences with only slight progression. He concluded, "This latest effort might represent a small progression, but it’s far from an evolution", and rated it a 3.5/5.^[2] Chiagoziem Onyekwena of Filter Free described Ijele the Traveler as "very contemporary and progressive" while noting it retained Flavour's highlife essence and "rich texture." He remarked that the album showed the artist's "steady growth" and called it "a joy to listen to" overall. He gave the album a rating of 72%.^[6]

Accolades

Awards and nominations for *Ijele the Traveler*
Organization	Year	Category	Result	Ref.
The Headies	2018	Best R&B/Pop Album	Nominated	^[8]
The Headies	2018	Album of the Year	Nominated	^[8]

Track listing

*Ijele the Traveler* track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Virtuous Woman"	Chinedu Okoli	Cobhams Asuquo	4:36
2.	"Sake of Love" (featuring Sarkodie)	Okoli Michael Addo	Masterkraft	3:57
3.	"Catch You"	Okoli	Tekno	3:36
4.	"Baby Na Yoka"	Okoli	Masterkraft	3:35
5.	"Jaiye"	Okoli	Del B	3:30
6.	"Skit" (featuring Oloye, Rabbai, Waga G, and Zuada)	Okoli	—	1:06
7.	"Simba"	Okoli	Masterkraft	3:53
8.	"Nnekata"	Okoli	Masterkraft	3:44
9.	"Chimamanda"	Okoli	Masterkraft	4:23
10.	"Iheneme" (featuring Chidinma)	Okoli	Illkeyz	3:52
11.	"Body Calling" (featuring Terry Apala)	Okoli Terry Ejeh	Flavour	3:57
12.	"Oringo"	Okoli	Selebobo	4:27
13.	"Oppressor"	Okoli	Masterkraft	3:48
14.	"Ijele" (featuring Zoro)	Okoli Owoh Chrismathner	Kezyklef	3:46
15.	"Loose Guard" (featuring Phyno)	Okoli Chibuzor Azubuike	Young John	3:42
16.	"Ukwu Nwata"	Okoli	Jaystuntz	3:59
17.	"Most High" (featuring Semah G. Weifur)	Okoli Semah G. Weifur	Masterkraft	4:24
Total length:				63:51

Notes

"—" denotes a skit

Release history

Release history and formats for *Ijele the Traveler*
Region	Date	Format	Label
Various	27 June 2017	CD streaming digital download	2nite Entertainment

References

1 2 Okiche, Wilfred (31 July 2017). "360Review: Flavour's Ijele The Traveler". 360nobs. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
1 2 3 4 Akan, Joey (3 July 2017). "Pulse Album Review: Flavour keeps things moving with "Ijele The Traveler" album". Pulse Nigeria. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
↑ "Essentials: Flavour's 'Ijele – The Traveler' should scare your favorite Afropop artists". The Native. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
↑ Ugobude, Franklin (19 July 2017). "The Story Of How Flavour Made This Boy's Dream Come True Is The Most Touching Thing Ever". OMG Voice. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
1 2 Donnett, Jim (31 July 2017). "ALBUM REVIEW: Flavour – Ijele (The Traveler)". tooXclusive. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
1 2 Onyekwena, Chiagoziem (9 July 2017). "Flavour Is A Chief Exporter Of Igbo Culture On Ijele – The Traveler". Filter Free. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
↑ Aigbokhaevbolo, Oris (24 July 2017). "Flavour – Ijele the Traveler". Music in Africa. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
↑ "Headies 2018: Full list of nominees". The Punch. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2025.

[360nobs-1] 1 2 Okiche, Wilfred (31 July 2017). "360Review: Flavour's Ijele The Traveler". 360nobs. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.

[pulse-2] 1 2 3 4 Akan, Joey (3 July 2017). "Pulse Album Review: Flavour keeps things moving with "Ijele The Traveler" album". Pulse Nigeria. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2025.

[3] "Essentials: Flavour's 'Ijele – The Traveler' should scare your favorite Afropop artists". The Native. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2025.

[4] Ugobude, Franklin (19 July 2017). "The Story Of How Flavour Made This Boy's Dream Come True Is The Most Touching Thing Ever". OMG Voice. Retrieved 4 January 2018.

[tooxclusive-5] 1 2 Donnett, Jim (31 July 2017). "ALBUM REVIEW: Flavour – Ijele (The Traveler)". tooXclusive. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2025.

[filterfree-6] 1 2 Onyekwena, Chiagoziem (9 July 2017). "Flavour Is A Chief Exporter Of Igbo Culture On Ijele – The Traveler". Filter Free. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2026.

[7] Aigbokhaevbolo, Oris (24 July 2017). "Flavour – Ijele the Traveler". Music in Africa. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2026.

[8] "Headies 2018: Full list of nominees". The Punch. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2025.

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