The Nigerian music industry Is one of the most prosperous industries in the country today. The type of music that is being produced has gone through a rough refining stage to what it is now, and we hope to see more improvements in the coming future.
There are various genres of music, and the industry is blessed with individuals that key into all kinds of genres, from high life to Afro, pop, and rap.
Rap music is one genre that most youths get to enjoy the most, cause a lot of time these rappers get to tell stories, where the listener gets to see himself from the rapper’s point of view.
MI is one of those rappers that give his audience that feel of what rap should be and delivers to his audience the nostalgia.
In this article, we would be looking at the rapper MI, what he is worth, his biographer, and some facts about him.
Profile
- Name: Jude Lemfani Abaga
- Stage name: MI
- Date of birth: 4th October 1981
- State of origin: Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria
- Nationality: Nigeria
- Net worth: $ 3.9 million
Who is M.I
MI is one of the greatest rappers that the country had ever known. The polls usually put him at the top, due to the kind of lyrics he delivers in his songs.
His real name is Jude Abaga. He was born on the 4th of October 1981, in Jos, Plateau State, which is in the northern part of Nigeria.
Many Nigerian, consider MI to be the best rapper the country had produced, he is a rapper, a songwriter, a record producer, recording artist, stage performer, and a model.
He had been the (CEO) Chief Executive Officer of the record label “Chocolate City” from June 2015 to date. He has been described by so many media as one of the most excellent, most skilled, and highly creative rappers in Africa.
He was born into a religious home; his father and mother were Pastors, Mr. and Mrs. Abaga, were from Takum, which a small village in Taraba State, in Nigeria.
After obtaining his First Leaving Certificate from the primary school he attended in Jos, he went on to Baptist High School in Jos, Plateau State, where he received his West African Senior School Certificate.
While in his early years in school, MI had been rapping and freestyling, when his parents saw the talent and skills he had for rap, they bought him some music equipment, and a 7-keys mini piano, this instruments helped lunch MI into the world of music.
MI has two younger brothers, Jesse Abaga, and Jason Abaga. Like MI, Jesse is also a rapper, and is definitely on the list of the best rappers in the country and Africa, though he is well known as Jesse Jagz.
MI grew up listening to people like Jay-Z, Bob Marley, Pablo Neruda, Lauren Hill, and the famous Tupac and DMX.
After MI had completed his secondary school in the year 1998, he went to the United States of America.
He enrolled at Calvin College in Michigan, where he studied Business and Economics; while he was there, he gets influenced and inspired by the music of DMX and Lauren to pursue a career in music.
While on campus, MI would often join in school functions, and sing in many hip hop shows and concerts, he also went into poetry. All of these activities were the building block for rapper MI.
MI tried out comedy, but in the end, he decided to stick to rapping, as he was embarrassed as no one laughed at his jokes. In the year 2003, he took third place in the only hip-hop show that was ever organized In Calvin College tagged “Hip-Hop-Era.”
Career
MI returned to Nigeria in the year 2003, and by then, the rap and hip hop music industry was highly dominated by big names like Ruggedman, Eedris Abdulkareem, and Mode 9, etc.
MI never let these big names made him feel small; instead, he immediately began the production of his mixtape with his friend Djinee. This mixtape led to the production of his first album “Safe” the album was a huge step at the successful life of MI.
The album gained airplay by various African radio, music, and video stations; this album also won him multiple awards at the Nigerian Entertainment Awards, Nigerian Music Video Award, City Peoples Award, and many others.
In 2009, he won the award for best Hip Hop rapper at the MTV awards for the Best New Act. He was nominated for the Best International Act at the BET award in the United States in the year 2010.
MI’s fame began to spread in the year 2006 when his track “Crowd Mentality” became so popular in JOS. In the year 2008, MI released another album titled “Let’s Talk About It” the album got global acceptance and commercial success; it sold millions not just in Nigeria but also worldwide.
In the year 2010, MI released another album titled “MI2,” it was a very successful album, and it sold millions worldwide. “Chairman” was released in 2014, and in 2018 he released “Rendezvous” these two albums are known to be one of the best rap albums Africa had ever produced; they both sold millions and were a commercial success.
Before his fame, MI had been in a group with his brother Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince, Ruby, E Kelly, Lindsay, Moses, Threadstone. Their group was known as Loopy Group. He later formed music labeled “Chocolate City” and signed Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince, and Brymo.
Awards and Nominations
- Best Rap single at the Headies-2018
- Lyricist on the Roll at the Headies-2018
- Best Rap Album (Chairman) at the Headies -2015
- 2009 Hip Hop World Award for Best Rap Album
- 2009 Hip Hop World Award Hip Hop Revelation
- 2008 Hip Hop world Award Best Rap Single
- 2008 Modemen Awards Musician of the year
- Best New Act MTV African Award 2009
- 2009 NMVA Awards for Best Use of Special Effects in A video
- 2009 NMVA Awards for Best Main Stream Hip Hop video
- 2010 Future Awards for Musician of the year
- 2010 City People Awards for Musician of the Year
- National Daily Awards for Artist of the Year
- 2010 Malaysian African Entertainment Award for Musician of the Year
- 2010 Orange Wall of Fame Awards for the Most Amiable Brand at the
Summary
MI is definitely one of the best out there, and he never fails to deliver an outstanding piece of work whenever he comes out to do his thing.
Have anything to say about MI’s worth, biography, or any other thing that has been discussed? Please leave a comment below.
