Alaga Ibile

Alaga Ibile is the second studio album by indigenous Yoruba rapper Reminisce. It was released on 15 November 2013 by Edge Records and LRR Entertainment. The album features a blend of Afrobeat and hip hop. The album featured artists such as Wizkid, Obadice, Burna Boy, Naeto C, Sossick, Davido, Endia and Olamide. Notable producers that worked on the album include Sossick, Sarz, Jospo, Chopstix, DeeVee and Shizzi.

Background and promotion
In a interview with OkayAfrica, Reminisce said this: "From there we put out 'Too Much' it became big and then the album Book Of Rap Stories didn't give me the critical acclaim I wanted because it had singles like "Too Much" & "Kako Bi Chicken" so people were doubting my credibility as a rapper. Coincidentally, I ran into Sosick who had been looking for me, he loved what I did and we started recording Alaga Ibile, the album that got me the recognition as a rapper. It had the biggest names out there right now, Wizkid, Burna, Naeto, Davido, Olamide. This was the album that defined who Reminisce is."

On 5 October 2013, Reminisce released a promotional single titled "Hurricane", although the track did not make it to the album.

Composition
The intro track is a story about Reminisce's journey from nothing to something, talking about the struggles he faced and how he rose from the bottom due to dedication and commitment. "Turn It Around" features Sossick and is also a track about the troubles Reminisce had to go through to get to the top of the rap game. "Ife" is a classic love song of meeting the perfect lover and spending life together. "Agidigbo" is an ode to sex workers. "Daddy" features Davido and is a message to Reminisce's father saying that he wants to be as rich as him, if not, richer than him. In "Rude Gyal", Reminisce and Burna Boy talk about a girl that they want to hook up with.

Singles
The lead single and bonus track, "Nigboro", was released on 26 January 2013. The song is a remastered version of one of Reminisce's older singles, and was produced by Sarz. The second single, "Government", was released on 4 March 2013. It features Olamide and Endia, and was produced by Chopstix. The music video for "Government" was released on 24 July 2013 and directed by HG2 Filmworks. The third single, Fantasi, was released on 16 July 2013. The song was produced by Sarz. The music video for "Fantasi" was released on 29 October 2013 and directed by Unlimited L.A. The fourth single, 3rd World Thug, is a freestyle and was released on 21 September 2013. The song was produced by Sossick and the music video for "3rd World Thug" was released on 1 May 2014 and directed by Jassy Generation. The fifth single, Eleniyan, was released on 13 December 2013 and features vocals from Wizkid. The song was produced by Sarz and the music video for "Eleniyan" was released on 30 September 2014. The video was directed by MEX Films.

Critical reception
Ayomide Tayo of Nigerian Entertainment Today rated the album a 3.5, stating that "despite his limited range, Reminisce has dropped a solid album that should see him in the top spot with his contemporaries". Emmanuel Daraloye respected the album, saying that "On Alaga Ibile, Reminisce showed his musical dexterity, and luckily for him, the fans were patient to unravel each layers." Wilfred Okiche of YNaija had mixed feelings about the album, stating that "Towards the final arc, ‘Alaga Ibile’ loses a lot of steam and starts to bore with it’s sub-stellar tracks." But he then pointed out that the album "won't set the charts or market on fire but it serves some purpose, introducing Reminisce to awider audience."

Accolades
Alaga Ibile was nominated for Best Rap Album at The Headies 2014.

Track listing

 * Samples
 * "Pimp by Blood" samples Jay-Z's song "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me) featuring Pharrell Williams.

Personnel

 * Reminisce – primary artist
 * Wizkid – featured artist
 * Obadice – featured artist
 * Burna Boy – featured artist
 * Naeto C – featured artist
 * Sossick – featured artist
 * Davido – featured artist
 * Endia – featured artist
 * Olamide – featured artist
 * Sossick – producer
 * Sarz – producer
 * Jospo – producer
 * Chopstix – producer
 * Dee Vee – producer
 * Shizzi – producer
 * Accessways Production - video director
 * HG2 Filmworks – video director
 * Jassy Generation - video director
 * MEX Films - video director
 * Patrick Elis - video director
 * Unlimited L.A - video director