SOME call him Mr Incredible and others prefer to keep it at MI. But the sensational hip hop icon is born Jude Abaga. With so many awards tagged to his name, he rose to prominence in 2006, when his song
MI
"Crowd Mentality" thrilled every Nigerian music lover.
Early life
Born in Umuahia, Abia State to Mr and Mrs Abaga, both from Takum, Taraba State. MI attended Baptist High School, Jos, where his mother purchased basic music notations and later, a 7-key mini piano which launched him into the music world. Brother to Jason Abaga and Jesse Jagz, another star artiste in the Nigerian rap music industry. As an adolescent, he would listen to tracks from Lauryn Hill, Robert Nesta Marley, Sarah Machlaclan, Pablo Neruda, Jay-Z and DMX.
MI’s venture in the Hip Hop world started with the sampling of musical works from DMX and Lauryn Hill as early as 1998. After his stint at Calvin College, Michigan, USA, he delved into Poetry while pursuing a career in Business and Economics. There, he per-for-med regularly at the school's major Hip Hop shows and concerts. His impressive rap flows and attitude earned him a third place finish at the Calvin College show tagged 'HipHopera' in 2003, which was actually the only "Hip Hop show" that Calvin College ever had. M.I. also made some amateur attempts at comedy, but decided to stick to music because he was embarrassed when nobody laughed but him.
Career
He began his music career when he returned to Nigeria in 2003, and was able to stand on his foot in an industry dominated by the likes of Modenine, Ruggedman and Eedris Abdulkareem then, with the production of mixtapes with his friend, Djinee. This led to the critically acclaimed single "Safe", which has gathered impressive airplay by African radio and music video stations such as MTV Vibe. The track also earned him awards at the Nigerian Music Video Awards, City People, N.E.A, amongst others.
The hype surrounding the release of 'Safe' led to the critical acclaim given to his first studio album titled Let's Talk About It, released on 11th December, 2008. The album gathered awards such as Musician of the Year (Modemen Awards in 2008), Best Hip Hop Artiste (City People Awards). His first mixtape was Pyeriboy. He later went on to bring out a sample mixtape, ILLEGAL MUSIC, in which he fully exploits his lyrical prowess.
Back in Jos Nigeria, he teamed up with his brothers, Jesse Jagz, IcePrince, Ruby, Threadstone, Lindsay, Moses (Elbulk), E kelly to form a record label, called LOOPY records, and they performed every Sunday at an open bar, with a theme tagged Jam Session. MI was later signed to the Chocolate City Company, a renowned music label in Nigeria which influenced the beginning of his successful career in the Nigerian music industry.
He has also received international recognition in South Africa from the popular Channel O music Award, MTVbase Awards and also the American BET Awards. To most people MI is known as the best lyricist Nigeria has seen. A proficient producer, lyricist, songwriter and instrumentalist, he has produced and featured on the works of artists like Don Jazzy, Threadstone (Nigeria's first rock band), Kel, Djinee, Shifi (Style Plus), Jesse Jags, Ice Prince, Ruby, Lindsey, Leony e.t.c. He also runs a production company, Rytchus Era Productions with his brother Jesse Abaga (Jesse Jagz).
MI Facts
- His first album sold 30000 copies in the first 30 minutes of release (TJoe distributions December 2008)
- Hit singles include: Safe, Crowd mentality, Teaser, Short black boy, Anoti, Fast Money Fast Cars, Number 1, Undisputed Champion, Action Film.
- His second album, MI2: The Movie, is the highest selling album on the most popular musical Nigerian website - In the week of the second album release, November 2010, MI was number 7 trending topic globally on Twitter MI's Contribution
MI's role in the music industry cannot be overstated. He has been responsible for bringing out many upcoming artistes such as Wizkid, Jesse Jagz, Ruby, Pype, Ice Prince and the latest is Brymo. MI has done a lot to bring a Northern presence to the Nigerian music industry. MI produces with Chocolate City, and has produced albums and songs for his label mates. The most notable of these being in 2011 when he produced Ice Prince's album ‘Everybody Loves Ice Prince’.
Awards and Nominations
Best Rap Album 2009 –Hip Hop world Awards
Hip Hop Revelation 2009 – Hip Hop World Awards
Best New Act of the Year 2009 – Nigerian Entertainment Awards
Best Rap Single 2008 – Hip Hop World Awards
Musician of the Year– Modemen Awards 2008
Best Hip Hop-MTV MAMA Awards 2009.
Best New Act-MTV MAMA Awards 2009.
Best Use of Special Effects in a video-NMVA 2009
Best Mainstream Hip Hop Video-NMVA 2009.
Musician of the Year- The Future Awards 2010.
Musician of the Year – City People 2010.
Artist of the Year – National Daily 2010.
Musician of the Year – Malaysian African Entertainments Awards 2010.
Most Amiable Brand – Orange Wall of Fame 2010.
