Inetimi Alfred Odon (born 15 August 1980), known by his stage name Timaya, is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

singer-songwriter. Being from Odi,

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is a state in the South South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. The capital, Yenag ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, Timaya is known for combining Nigerian pop with elements of

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

, and soca, as well as

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Indigenous peoples of Africa, Africans (primarily fr ...

Dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

music. He is the founder of DM (Dem Mama) Records Limited. Timaya's solo career began in 2005 with the release of the single "''Dem Mama,"'' which is about the '' Odi massacre.'' His debut album, ''True Story,'' was released the following year, and his second album, ''Gift and Grace,'' was released in 2008. His third studio album, ''De Rebirth,'' was released in collaboration with Black Body Entertainment and featured the single "Plantain Boy". He collaborated with Dem Mama Soldiers on the album ''LLNP (Long Life N Prosperity)'', released in 2021. And in 2012, Timaya released ''Upgrade''. To date, his work has earned him four Headies Awards, two AFRIMMA Awards, one

Music Award, and one NEA Award.

Early life

Inetimi Alfred Odon was born on August 15, 1980, in Port Harcourt City, Rivers State, Nigeria. He grew up as the youngest of 15 children in a large family. His father worked as a banker, while his mother was a trader. For his early education, Timaya attended

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

Nursery and Primary School. His secondary education began at Nkpolu Oroworukwo in

Port Harcourt Port Harcourt (Pidgin: ''Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa)'' is the capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fifth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Benin. It lies along the Bonny River and is locate ...

, where he often broke house rules to attend late-night music events. After relocating to

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, he enrolled at Ikeja Grammar School where he obtained his secondary school certificate. Timaya enrolled at the University of Port Harcourt, only to drop out after the first semester due to low grades, eventually moving back to

to join Eedris Abdulkareem's hip-hop group as a backup vocalist. After three years with Eedris, Timaya left the group to pursue a solo career. He began collaborations with fellow new artists and made his first

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

in an unreleased music video by UDX, a Lagos-based rap group. Subsequently, he met producer Obaksolo in Mafoluku, Oshodi, who produced his first major hit record, "Dem Mama", after hearing his

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

performance. Timaya collaborated with Namse Udosen (Menthol X) on "''Pomporo",'' a track on his debut album ''True Story''.

Career

2005–2009: ''True Story'', ''Gift and Grace'', and ''De Rebirth''

Timaya's solo career began in 2005 with the release of his debut single, "''Dem Mama''", which recounted the Odi massacre. The song appeared on his debut album, ''True Story'', released the following year to critical acclaim. His second album, ''Gift and Grace'', was released in 2008. His third studio album, ''De Rebirth'', was released in partnership with Black Body Entertainment. This album featured the hit single "''Plantain Boy"''.

2010–2017: ''Upgrade'', ''Epiphany'', ''Bum Bum Remix'', and Grammy nomination

In 2010, Timaya was featured on the song "''Kokoroko''" by the female gospel artist Kefee, which won the Best Collaboration category at the 2010 Headies Awards. On June 25, 2012, Timaya released another album titled ''Upgrade,'' which spawned hits like "''Bum Bum''", "Sexy Ladies", and "''Malonogede''". The album featured collaborations with Attitude, Terry G, and Vector. Duncan Mighty and Timaya dueted on "''I Know I Know Dat''", which leaked onto the internet a few hours after Duncan Mighty's album ''Footprints'' was released in stores. Both artists were honored at the fourth annual Odudu Music Awards, alongside M-Trill, Sodi Cookey, Becky Enyioma, and Timi Dakolo. Timaya on NdaniTV

In 2014, Timaya released his fifth studio album titled ''Epiphany''. The album featured 20 tracks, including global hits such as "''Bum Bum Remix"'' featuring Dancehall A-Lister

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Paul's first album, ''Stage One'', was released in 2000. He gained international fame with his second album, ''Dutty Rock'', in 2002. Its single "Get Busy ...

, "''Sanko''", and "''Ukwu''". It also included collaborations with 2Baba Idibia,

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 ...

Olamide Olamide Gbenga Adedeji (born 15 March 1989) is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is regarded as one of the most influential artists in Nigeria and Africa and has been crucial to the creative and commercial succe ...

, Sir Shina Peters, Deethi,

Phyno Chibuzo Nelson Azubuike (; born 9 October 1986), who is known professionally as Phyno, is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Phyno was born and raised in Enugu State but is a native of Anambra State. He started his musi ...

, and Terry G. In 2017, Timaya performed in Nassau, where he headlined the first-ever Afro-Soca concert. In 2018, he received his first

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nomination in the ''Best Reggae Album'' category. He was featured on ''Avrakedabra'', an album by Morgan Heritage on the track titled "''Reggae Night"'' (global remix). Timaya established his record label, DM Records Limited, which became home to artists like

and Runtown. In 2017, he signed the young Dancehall/Afro-Fusion artist King Perryy and producer KillerTunes to the DM Records imprint. Later, he collaborated with

Kcee KCEE is a commercial radio station located in Tucson, Arizona, broadcasting on 690 AM. KCEE airs a Christian format and is owned by Calvary Chapel of Tucson, Inc. By day, KCEE is powered at 250 watts; as 690 AM is a clear channel frequency ...

on the song "Erima." Timaya Performing To Fans at Rwanda

2019–2020: ''Chulo Vibes'' and ''Gratitude''

After five years of releasing singles, albums, and touring, Timaya released an EP titled ''Chulo Vibes''. This project featured collaborations with Tanzanian artist Alikiba, Trinidadian Soca legend Machel Montano, and Nigerian Grammy-winning artist Burna Boy. His sixth solo studio album, ''Gratitude,'' was released in 2020. The album included singles such as "''Balance''", "''I Can't Kill Myself''", "''Gra Gra''", "''Don Dada''", and "''Born To Win''" respectively.

2023–present: ''Gladiator''

In 2023, Timaya's 2022 release, "''Sweet Us,"'' became a national hit and an anthem for the 2023 general elections, after he reached an agreement with Nyesom Wike's band leader, Bamidele, who was the original creator of the song's chorus. In 2024, Timaya released ''Gladiator'', his eighth-studio album. During a discussion with ''African Folder's'' Ukpeme Udoh, Timaya stated that his life's challenges inspired the album.

Honours

The Inter-Religious and International Federation for

World Peace World peace is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would come about. Various relig ...

(IIFWP) appointed Timaya as a peace ambassador in 2011.

Discography

Albums

* ''True Story'' (2007) * ''Gift And Grace'' (2008) * ''De Rebirth'' (2010) * ''LLNP Long Life N Prosperity'' (2011) * ''Upgrade'' (2012) * ''Epiphany'' (2014) * ''Gratitude'' (2020) * ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

'' (2024)

Extended plays

* ''Chulo Vibes'' (2019)

Selected singles

Music collaborations

*Cold Outside feat

BNXN Daniel Etiese Benson (born 14 May 1997), known professionally as Bnxn (pronounced as Benson) and formerly known as Buju, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. Early life Daniel Etiese Benson was born in Lagos. He hails from Ak ...

*Bum Bum remix feat

*Pull Up feat Burna Boy *Malonogede feat Terry G *Life Anagaga – MI feat Timaya. *Reggae Night – Morgan Heritage feat Timaya & others. *Kokoroko – Kefee feat Timaya *O Pari – DJ Shawn feat Timaya & Falz *Alubarika –

feat Timaya. *Waje featuring Timaya – kpolongo.

Videography

Awards and nominations

*Afrotainment-Museke Online African Music Awards **2011: Best Afro-Dancehall song, "Plantain Boy" (Won) * Nigeria Music Awards ** 2008: Album of the Year, ''True Story'' (Won) *

The Headies The Headies (originally called the Hip Hop World Awards) are honors established in 2006 by ''Hip Hop World Magazine'' to recognize outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry. The annual ceremony features performances by established a ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

: Best Reggae/Dancehall Album, ''True Story'' (Won) **

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

: Best Reggae/Dancehall Album, ''Gift and Grace'' (Won) **

: Best Collaboration, "Good or Bad" (with J. Martins and

P-Square P-Square are a Nigerian music duo composed of the twin brothers Mr. P (singer), Peter Okoye and Rudeboy (singer), Paul Okoye, who co-write and co-produce most of their songs. Noted for their artistic reinvention, musical versatility, and Visual a ...

) (Won) **

: Artiste of the Year (Nominated) **

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

: Best Collaboration, "Kokoroko" (with Kefee) (Won) *

Nigeria Entertainment Awards The Nigerian Entertainment Awards were established in New York City in January 2006. The awards recognize the contributions of African entertainers with a special focus on Nigerians. Ceremonies * 2006 Nigeria Entertainment Awards * 2007 Nigeria ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

: Indigenous Artist of the Year (Nominated) * AFRIMMA **Afrimma 2015 Best Dancehall Artist (Nominated) **Afrimma 2016 Best Dancehall Act of the Year (Nominated) **Afrimma 2017 Dancehall Act of the Year (Won) **Afrimma 2018 Best African Reggae/Dancehall Act (Nominated) *

2018 **Morgan Heritage's Reggae Night (Global Remix) off the album ''Avrakedabra''

Tours

*2021 – Timaya US Tour. *2019 – Timaya Chulo Vibes Europe Tour. *2018 – Timaya Live in Canada. *2017 – Timaya US Tour.

References

External links

Timaya's Instagram

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

* {{authority control 1980 births Singers from Port Harcourt Living people Nigerian male singer-songwriters 21st-century Nigerian singer-songwriters 21st-century Nigerian male singers Nigerian hip-hop singers The Headies winners Nigerian reggae musicians Afrobeats musicians