M.I Abaga

Jude Lemfani Abaga (born 4 October 1981), popularly known by his stage name M.I Abaga, is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is widely considered one of the influential rappers in Africa. He gained mainstream attention after the release of his track song, "Crowd Mentality" (2006). Since then, he has released albums Talk About It (2008), MI 2: The Movie (2010), The Chairman (2014), The Guy (2022); playlist Rendezvous (2018), and A Study on Self Worth: Yxng Dxnzl.

Abaga was CEO of Chocolate City from 2015 to 2019. In March 2020, he announced his exit, and launched his own record label Incredible Music. Abaga has won many awards including the MTV Africa Music Awards in 2009, and was nominated for the BET Awards in 2010.

Early life and career

Abaga was born in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria to parents from Takum in Taraba state. He attended Baptist High School, Jos, and has two brothers. His mother bought him a musical piano and he listened to songs by Lauryn Hill, Bob Marley, Sarah McLachlan, Pablo Neruda, Jay-Z and DMX; those which built him into the music world. Abaga proceeded to Calvin College, Michigan, where he studied Business and Economics. He performed in school's shows and concerts.

Abaga began his music career after he had returned to Nigeria in 2003. His first album gathered awards such as the Musician of the Year in the Modemen Awards in 2008, and Best Hip Hop Artist in the City People Entertainment Awards. His first mixtape was "Pyeri Boy", and later released a sample mixtape Illegal Music in 2009. The mixtape was followed by Illegal Music II (2012).

Abaga was signed to Chocolate City. Following the advancement, he relocated from Jos to Abuja, and worked with many Nigerian artists. In 2013 he was appointed by Globacom as an ambassador and a judge in Glo X-Factor in 2013. In 2016 he released Illegal Music 3: The Finale. It was followed by Rendezvous (2018).

Yxng Dxnzl was released on 24 August 2018. The album was released as part of a collection of Nigerian rap albums titled LAMB August. On 6 March 2020, Abaga announced his departure from Chocolate City. In 2023 he was appointed special adviser to Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State.

Personal life

On 22 September 2022, M.I and Eniola Mafe married in Lagos.

Rapping technique

Tripol of Blaze-A-Mic describes M.I's flow as "easy going but packed full of punches".

Legacy

M.I was appointed a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador in 2012. M.I supports the Jostified campaign. He has achieved worldwide recognition as part of the vanguard of the "Afrobeats" wave.

Musicians who have cited M.I as inspirations to them include Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince, Odumodublvck, Phyno, Show Dem Camp, Khaligraph Jones, Bemshima, Cassper Nyovest, Nasty C, Blaqbonez, Ladipoe, A.Q, Loose Kaynon, Ric Hassani.

Feuds

There has been a rivalry between Nigerian artists, M.I. Abaga and Kelly Hansome. This started when M.I. in his track Fast Money, Fast Cars stated, "Kelly Hansome is handsome, I'll tell him when I see him. But if I want a man, it'd be Keke or D1". Kelly Hansome did not take kindly to these words and from there they both have gone track for track with Kelly Hansome releasing Catch Me If You Can, where he goes in on the whole Chocolate City label. In response, the Choc City camp released Nobody Test Me with a line from M.I talking directly to Kelly Hansome, saying, " Only one Kelly that I know, Kelly Rowland. Why would I diss them, give them cheap promotion. I think that they're so dry, I should give them lotion". Later, Kelly Hansome released Chocolate Boys (Chocolate City members). M.I. released a track on his 2010 album, M.I.2 named Beef. With Kelly hearing this, brought out the track Finish You Boy.

In 2009 a US-based rapper by the name Iceberg Slim released a single titled Mr International where he said the lines: "Am I better than M.I? I don't know. Am I? Matter of fact you should ask M.I". That apparently didn't sit too well with M.I, prompting him to release a single known as "Somebody Wants To Die", featuring his label mate Ice Prince on the track. Less than 48 hours after the release of M.I's "Somebody Wants to Die" IceBerg Slim released "Assassination" and sources quote that his Facebook status at the time of the release read "Somebody Wants To Die", I'll be responsible for the "Assassination" ... let the countdown begin ... (I told em it would be a M.I.stake, but they didn't listen)". There was a contest in the mind of rap fans on who happened to be the best rapper in Nigeria. M.I developed more fans than Iceberg Slim and had more hit records, while Iceberg Slim gained hearts on Nigerian rap fans in a very short and unusual period. In 2012, both rappers decided to sweep the feud under the rug. Iceberg stated, "I don't think I picked on MI. It was a healthy competition in Hip-Hop, which most people don't understand. In Hip-Hop community, we could be best friends or brothers and I can say I'm the best rapper in the world and no one takes offense or takes it personal. My shot at MI wasn't a sign of disrespect in any way. Though sarcastic, it was healthy. People just took it out of context and thought I was dissing him. Rap music is all about competition because it helps you grow and improve on yourself."

M.I's popularity grew quickly over the years in Nigeria and was being compared to other artists like Naeto C, el Dee, D'banj, 9ice and Mode 9. He was listed as the fourth most talented rapper in Nigeria by online music site Notjustok.com. The ranking didn't sit well with M.I and he used the song NotJustOk/Savage (Track 5) on his 2016 released mixtape Illegal Music 3 to address the issue of him being compared to other Nigerian rap stars. He explicitly demanded that critics leave his name off any list and stop rating, ranking or criticizing music they didn't help create just because the critic wants to gain more traction, followers and boost their ratings.

M.I and Vector had an ongoing rap supremacy spat overtime to claim who was the best Hip Hop act in Nigeria, in 2019, it led to M.I releasing a diss track "The Viper", he insinuated how he had helped entertainers compared to Vector. He said, "See we rise by lifting others, who you lifted? Nobody in all these years. Can say that Vector put em in position wow."

Vector hit out at M.I in the diss track "Judas, the rat", responding to his claims he said,

"Jesse Jagz, you're my buddy, I couldn't do this in a hurry but the truth about your brother has been blurry. So sometime in this sermon, I will say some uncomfortable facts to show his fans their GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) is really a rat. Let's start the lecture.

"Who are the rappers that I put on?  Many more plus two out of your three and I didn't sign anything. I did it all for free since you were scratching on the surface like your DJ Lambo. How about the guns you brought to help become rambo?...So what am I supposed to do Sign a man I wouldn't sign? I don't do politics music.

"Yoruba people would say, 'Eni dale lo bale lo.' Ambode is leaving with VisionScape"

In December 2020, Vector and Jude "M.I" Abaga seem to have squashed their battle when they both met in the third and final part of "The Conversation", a Hennessy Nigeria documentary series based on the rivalry between M.I and Vector, the duo met face-to-face and discussed what transpired between them. Both rappers addressed what caused the beef and their thoughts on each other. M.I said he had the impression that Vector just didn't like him, while Vector said he believed M.I was cunning and deceptive.

They finally had a collaboration when Vector featured M.I on a song titled :Crown of Clay" in March 2021 which emphasized the positive attributes of being African and called out the negative impacts of white supremacy and imperialism. The two lyrical juggernauts also worked together on a song called 'Spirit' which was the first track on a seven-song EP called Hennessy ‘The Very Special Tape Volume 1.' The EP was a collaborative effort by the Cognac company to boost the rap culture in Africa and features other rappers like Payper Corleone, Preacher Kingz, Dabu The Gemini and Hennessy VS Class VII winner Matosan.

Discography

Filmography

Awards and nominations