M.I Abaga is the CEO of Chocolate City. He is a Nigerian rapper, a proficient record producer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. Observers have likened M.I’s rap style to that of Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Jay-Z. His company, Chocolate City, just signed a jaw-dropping deal with Warner Music.
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M.I Abaga Background
M.I Abaga whose real names are Jude Abaga was born in Jos, Plateau State, on the 4th of October 1981 to Mr and Mrs Abaga. He hails from the Jukum descent of Takum, Taraba State, Nigeria. He has two younger siblings – Jesse Jagz, who is also a hot cake in the Nigerian music industry, and Jason Abaga. M.I speaks Hausa fluently because he was born and brought up in Jos.
Jude attended Baptist High School, Jos. While he was in Secondary School, his parents noticed his passion for music so, his mother bought him basic music notations to learn more about music. After a while, she also bought him a 7-key mini piano, which he used for personal training.
Growing up, he always listened to Lauryn Hill, Bob Marley, Sarah Maclachlan, Pablo Neruda, Jay-Z, DMX, and Fela Ransom Kuti. He also attended Calvin College, Michigan, USA, where he studied Engineering for only a year before he moved on to major in Business and Economics.
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M.I Abaga Early Career
M.I delved into poetry at some point, and also did a bit of comedy, which didn’t work out well, so he decided to stick to music. While at Calvin College, he always performed at the school’s major hip hop shows and concerts. At one of the shows tagged – HipHopera, M.I performed and came 3rd position. He was at Calvin College from 1999 – 2003.
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M.I Abaga’s Career
Mr Jude Abaga started his music career in 2003, after his relocation to Nigeria. He started by producing mixtapes with his friend Djinee which led to the release of the hit single Safe. The song was widely recognized and played on African radio stations and music video stations like MTV Vibe.
M.I teamed up with his brother – Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince, Ruby, Threadstone, Lindsay, Moses – Elbulk, and E-kelly to form Loopy Music.
After a while, Chocolate City company – a renowned music label in Nigeria, signed M.I Abaga. On this account, he relocated to Abuja from Jos. Also, it was his contract with Chocolate City that launched him into a successful music career. Currently, M.I Abaga is a pro in his craft, to the extent that DIV described him as the future of African Hip Hop.
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M.I As A Producer
As a producer, M.I has produced and featured on the works of several artists including Don Jazzy, Threadstone – the first rock band in Nigeria, Kel, Djinee, Shifi of Styl Plus, Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince, Ruby, Lindsey, Leony, Wizkid, etc. Although he is the CEO of Chocolate City, he still owns his own production company – Rytchus Era Productions, with his brother Jesse Jagz.
M.I Abaga has helped several upcoming artistes come to limelight, some of these artists are Wizkid, Vypa, Jesse Jagz, Ruby, Pype, Ice Prince, Brymo, and KhaliGraph Jones.
Also, with his music, he imprint a Northern presence in the Nigerian music industry. By doing so, he is seen as one who wants to bring Nigeria together through music. Hence, Nigerian hip hop fans describe him as Nigeria’s Hip Hop Messiah.
M.I Abaga’s Endorsements
- Glo Mobile brand ambassador alongside other Nigerian artistes like Omawunmi, Burna Boy etc. in 2013. In the same year, he was chosen as one of the judges of the Glo X-Factor.
- United Nations appointed M.I Abaga as a Goodwill Ambassador in 2012.
M.I Abaga Studio Albums
- Talk About It – 2008
- MI 2: The Movie – 2010
- The Chairman – 2014
- A Study On Self Worth: Yxng Dxnzl – 2018
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M.I Abaga Compilations
- The Indestructible Choc Boi Nation (with Chocolate City) – 2015
M.I Abaga Mixtapes And Playlists
- Illegal Music – 2009
- Illegal Music 2 – 2012
- The Finale: Illegal Music 3 – 2016
- Rendezvous – 2018
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M.I Abaga Singles
- Safe (featuring Djinee) in the album Talk About It – 2008
- Undisputed Champion in the album MI2 – 2010
- Action Film (featuring Brymo) in the album MI2 – 2010
- Bad Belle (featuring Moti Cakes) in the album The Chairman – 2014
- Monkey (featuring Chigurl) in the album The Chairman – 2014
- Bullion Van (featuring Runtown, Phyno & Stormrex) in the album The Chairman – 2014
- King James – 2014
- Show Me (as a featured artist) – 2014
- Acho Mi’Ya (as a featured artist) – 2016
- Everything I Have Seen in the album Illegal Music 3: The Finale – 2016
- Phase 2 – 2016
- Your Father (featuring Dice Ailes) in the album Rendezvous: The Playlist – 2017
- You Rappers Should Fix Up Your Lives in the album Yxng Dxnzl (A Study of Self Worth) – 2017
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M.I Abaga Videos
- Bad Belle directed by MEX – 2015
- Monkey directed by MEX – 2015
- Bullion Van directed by MEX – 2015
- Phase 2 directed by Clarence Peters – 2016
- You Rappers Should Fix Up Your Lives directed by Clarence Peters – 2017
- Your Father Feat Dice Ailes directed by The Myth – 2017
- Lekki directed by The Myth – 2018
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Recognitions Of M.I Abaga
- Worldwide recognition as part of the vanguard of the Afrobeats wave.
Quotes Of M.I Abaga
“Imagine if our young women were protected by all of society so they grow with joy and vibrancy…”
“If you have to yell, remind people who you are, or rely on your authority, then you are not a leader, you are only trying to rule.”
“He who comes to equity must come with clean hands.”
“You could be a king for a day, and the next day you’re in chains…”
“I am never too big to do anything, the day I believe I am too big for anything, then my career is over.”
“What you really want in life is to do a good job, and leave with your head held high.”
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Nominations Of M.I Abaga
- Musician of the Year at the Mode Men Awards – 2008
- Lyricist on the Roll at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2008
- Best Rap Single at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2008
- Next Rated at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2008
- Best Rap Album at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2009
- Lyricist on the Roll at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2009
- Best Mainstream Hip Hop Video at the Nigerian Music Video Awards – 2009
- Hip Hop Revelation at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2009
- Mex was nominated for the Best Director at the Nigerian Music Video Awards – 2009
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- Video of The Year at the Nigerian Music Video Awards – 2009
- Best Use of Special Effects in a video at the Nigerian Music Video Awards – 2009
- Musician of the Year at The Future Awards – 2009
- Best Rap Single at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2010
- Lyricist on the Roll at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2010
- Best International Act at the BET Awards – 2010
- Artiste of the Year at The Headies – 2011
- MI2 was nominated for the Album of the Year at The Headies – 2011
- Artist of the Year at the Diaspora Professionals, Dubai – 2011
- Best Rap Single at The Headies – 2015
- The Chairman was nominated for the Album of the Year at The Headies – 2015
- Best Performer at The Headies Award – 2018
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M.I Abaga Awards
- Lyricist on the Roll at The Headies Awards
- Best Rap Single at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2008
- Musician of the Year at the Mode Men Awards – 2008
- Best New Act at the MTV Africa Music Awards – 2009
- NMVA Award for the Best Use of Special Effects in a video – 2009
- Best Mainstream Hip Hop Video at the NMVA – 2009
- Nigerian Entertainment Awards honoured him as the Best New Act of the Year – 2009
- Best Rap Album at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2009
- Hip Hop Revelation at the Hip Hop World Award – 2009
- Musician of the Year at The Future Awards – 2010
- City People named him as the Musician of the Year – 2010
- Artist of the Year by the National Daily – 2010
- Malaysian African Entertainments Awards honoured M.I as the Musician of the Year – 2010
- Orange Wall of Fame named him as the Most Amiable Brand – 2010
- The Chairman was named as the Best Rap Album at The Headies – 2015
- Best Rap Single at The Headies Award – 2018
- Lyricist on the Roll – The Headies Award – 2018
Net Worth Of M.I Abaga
According to wealthresult.com, M.I Agbage is worth $3.9million.
Life Lesson From M.I
- Be determined in achieving whatever you want to achieve. Determination is a strong factor for success.
- Do not be scared to pursue your true passion; even when you stray to other paths. M.I started as an engineer but when he realised what he wanted to do, he had to change his career path. If you are not happy with where you are, do not be afraid to look for more fulfilling paths.
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