Ifiok Effanga, professionally known as Fiokee, is a Nigerian

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

. He is known for his trebly guitar solos infused with highlife steeped guitar lines. He was born on 10 January 1982. Fiokee is associated with acts such as

Tiwa Savage Tiwatope Omolara Savage (born 5 February 1980), known professionally as Tiwa Savage (), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. Savage sings in English, Nigerian Pidgin and Yoruba; her music is a blend of afrobeats, R&B, afropop, p ...

Yemi Alade Yemi Eberechi Alade (born 13 March 1989), known professionally as Yemi Alade, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, actress and activist from the Akoko part of Ondo State. Her music is a mixture of Afropop, highlife, dancehall, pop music, pop and Rh ...

Patoranking Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie (born 27 May 1990), better known by his stage name Patoranking, is a Nigerian Afrobeats and reggae-dancehall singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Ebute Metta community of Lagos, he grew up sharing one room with his ...

Reekado Banks Ayoleyi Hanniel Solomon (born 6 December 1993), who is better known by his stage name Reekado Banks, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He was signed to Mavin Records between 2014 and 2018, and went by the stage name Spicy before his record d ...

Adekunle Gold Adekunle Almoruf Kosoko (born 28 January 1987), known professionally as Adekunle Gold and AG Baby, is a Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter currently signed to Def Jam Recordings. He gained widespread attention after releasing the 2015 hit ...

, Flavour, Simi, and

Kiss Daniel Oluwatobiloba Daniel Anidugbe (born 1 May 1994), who is better known as Kizz Daniel (formerly Kiss Daniel), is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He rose to fame in 2014 with his debut single, " Woju". He signed a record deal with G-Worldwide Ent ...

, among others. He studied at the

Petroleum Training Institute Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) is located in Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria. It was established in 1973 by the federal government of Nigeria as a prerequisite for the membership in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to ...

in Effurun,

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

Playing style

He is known for his distinct blend of contemporary highlife and Afrobeats, with occasional forays into

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

. His solos (sessions work) often a serve as outros and feature his signature trebley S-type Guitar. His solos often closely toe the line of the main melodic theme, with his outro in 'nobody wey no fit make am' a case in point. He has expressed his interest in inculcating Afro-jazz into his playing. His playing style include: rapid thrills, legato and frequent octave move.

Background

Fiokee was born in Akwa ibom state in Nigeria, the fourth child of six. Fiokee began his interest in music at a very young age in a church

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, where he learned to sing the solfa notation. He later received guitar lessons from a

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

driver, but quit due to financial limitations. In 2003, Fiokee began studying

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

and began playing at churches.

Career

In 2008, Fiokee went to

Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...

to participate in a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

music competition A music competition is a public event designed to identify and award outstanding musical ensembles, solo (music), soloists, composers, conducting, conductors, musicologists or compositions. Pop music competitions are music competitions which are h ...

show called Star Quest and won as part of a group called Diamonds. He soon gained popularity for such collaborations as ''

Simisola ''Simisola'' is a 1994 novel by British crime writer Ruth Rendell. It features her recurring detective Inspector Wexford, and is the 17th in the series. Though a murder mystery, the book also touches on the themes of racism, welfare dependency ...

'' by Simi, ''Thankful'' by Flavour, ''

God Over Everything ''God Over Everything'' (abbreviated as ''G.O.E'') is the debut studio album by Nigerian singer Patoranking. It was released on 1 August 2016. The album features guest appearances from Wizkid, Olamide, Phyno, Elephant Man, Kwam 1 and Konshens. Pr ...

'' by

, " Woju" by

, and "Ferrari" by

. In 2016, Fiokee started a record label called Fiokee Records. On 14 January 2022, Fiokee dropped his first album, ''MAN'' with fourteen tracks and each track featuring renowned Nigerian artistes.

Discography

Singles

* "Like" by

(featuring

and Fiokee) * "Duro" (Cover) * "Independent Woman" (featuring Jumabi) * "Sweetest Thing" (featuring

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) * "Juju" by

Gabiro Guitar Gabiro Girishyaka Gilbert, popularly known by his stage name Gabiro() Guitar (born 17 October, 1988) in Gikondo Kicukiro District, is a Rwandan singer, songwriter and guitarist . Early life and education He grew up in a family of 7 where he hap ...

(featuring Fiokee) * "Very Connected" (featuring Flavour) * "Dumebi" (featuring

Davido David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), known professionally as Davido, is a Nigerian American, Nigerian-American singer, songwriter and record producer. Davido was born in Atlanta, U.S, and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. He made his mus ...

and

Peruzzi The Peruzzi family were bankers of Florence, among the leading families of the city in the 14th century, before the rise to prominence of the Medici. Their modest antecedents stretched back to the mid 11th century, according to the family's gen ...

) * ''Follow You'' (

Chike Chike or Chiké is an Igbo masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Chike (singer) or Chike-Ezekpeazu Osebuka, Nigerian singer, runner up in ''The Voice Nigeria'' *Chike Aniakor (born 1939), Nigerian painter * Chike Augustine (b ...

and

Gyakie Jackline Acheampong (born 16 December 1999), known professionally as Gyakie, aka Song Bird is a Ghanaian R&B and afro-fusion singer. In 2019, Gyakie released her first single titled "Love is Pretty", which paved the way for another single, "Ne ...

)

References

21st-century Nigerian musicians Nigerian record producers Nigerian guitarists Living people 1982 births {{Nigeria-musician-stub