Mode 9 made the track ‘A Hero Comes Home’, but it’s not him we look up to in these treacherous times and perilious periods. Today, we look to the North, from whence our help will come in the mould of a short black boy.
Known to family, close friends and associates as Jude Abaga, but to the rest of the country as the long awaited Rap Messiah; the impeccable lyricist; the wack-rapper slayer; the beat maker; the performer; the MC. He is Mr. Incredible.
The short black boy who is the next big thing was originally known by the moniker: Amigo but over time the artiste evolved and so did the name. Now known as M.I, an acronym for many things like Mic Innovator, Most Innovative, Mankind Illustrator, Most Immaculate and off course; Mr. Incredible.
He crept into our consciousness with songs like ‘Crowd Mentality’, ‘Kauna Allah remix’ and ‘Time’, from a quiet MC on the rise in the J-town and ABJ circuits to becoming a prominent feature on the national stage, rocking shows from Gombe to Gabon; Lagos to London. M.I the multi-talented is a Rapper, Producer and Performer.
M.I as an individual personifies humility, honesty and hardwork. He takes his craft seriously and his stage presence is awe inspiring with an ability to connect with the crowd no matter how large or small.
Whats Up, Naija? caught up with M.I in Lagos, a few months ago, to pick his brain on a range of topics, enjoy.
So, whats up with M.I these days? You just dropped the Album – ‘Talk About It’, it’s been well received, you’ve been well received as well, did you know success would this soon?
Success is a shifting concept, I don’t know if I can say I’m completely successful because I have not accomplished everything I set out to do, however I do thank God for the level of success that I have attained and the fact that this music that I’ve made, which is a little bit outside the grain of what you would term as contemporary Nigerian pop music, is being received as such, it’s selling very well, we’re doing lots of shows, we’re touching new markets that we’ve never been to before, I really appreciate it thank God for that and the team that’s behind me; Bobby Taylor Consulting; My management: Godwin Tom; My Record label: Chocolate City – they also handle management as well: Mo’, Samson and, off course, Audu. Everybody’s working really hard, it’s a joint effort and a lot of people in the industry love me too, so that helps.
The label is Chocolate City, how did you meet Audu and how did you get signed?
Audu was actually looking to sign Jeremiah Gyang and at that point, I was sort of doing unofficial management for Jeremiah Gyang and so I didn’t meet Audu actually before they got signed, but after a while Jeremiah kept saying “you need to meet Audu, he’s a fantastic guy”. So he came down to Jos one time, we met, we spoke, I could see he was not impressed at all, I played him some of my music and he was just like “whatever”, I made more music, I played for him and he was like “yeah, yeah, whatever” but then by the time I played ‘Crowd Mentality’ for him, he was like “yeah, I have a record contract for you right here, so it was a fantastic opportunity for me, it’s been a long time though, since we signed, 3 years, it’s taken a long time for us to be where we are right now, but you know, it’s Cest la vie, such is life and we just starting, we’re just climbing.
You won the award for Best rap single at the HHWA’08. This year, we guess you’re gunning for best Rap album, who do you expect your contenders to be?
Obviously you would have people like Rooftop MCs: who I think had a clasic album last year, I think it’s a hip hop classic. Off course, the heavyweight: Mode 9, anytime he drops an album, it’s always gonna be in contention. Also I think one of the most fantastic albums as far as pop music is concerned in naija, cross over album is Naeto C’s album – ‘You Know My P’. Those are the albums that I think are in contention for this year, I might be missing out somebody but I think those are the albums that are really hot on the tail. I think ‘Talk About It’ is the goodish, so please vote for ‘Talk About It’ if you have to vote for one.
What’s the difference between being behind the mixing desk as a producer and holding the Mic as a Rapper?
Behind the mixing desk, I’m funny, I’m silly, I’m stupid, I’m just trying to get the music however it comes out, but on stage as a performer, I come on stage, I try to have my swag, my cool. So it’s a totally different approach, behind the console you want to be effective, on stage you wanna be iconic and it’s just two different approaches.
Do you intend to take production seriously to the level where an M.I beat is a guarantee for success the way a Neptunes or Timbaland beat could be?
I don’t wanna be a commercial producer, I don’t want people to determine the hotness of my music the same way they do a Neptunes or Timbaland beat. I just wanna make good music, I wanna be like, sort of like, Basket Mouth or Raphael Sadiq, just putting in work whether you’re hearing of him or not: he’ll come and go, he’ll come and go. It’s not about hot beats, it’s not about who has the hottest single, it’s about good music. So I’m not open to anyone just coming out to make a beat, M.I making a beat for them. I work with who I wanna work with, and so far I’ve done Rooftop MCs, I’ve done Ashionye, I’ve done Ibiyemi, a lot of other people, working with Suzy very soon, Kaffy, a lot of people that I’m interested in working with so it’s gonna be good.
Tell us about Loopy Records
Loopy Records is a record label, sort of, it’s actually just a label name, sort of a group or family of 6 artistes that began together in Jos, and we didn’t begin as the original, we’re not the original 6, people have come and gone but we’ve sort of stayed together. Its 3 Rappers: Myself, Jesse Jags and Ice Prince and 3 Singers: Eve, Lindsey and Ruby. We’ve consistently made music over the years, we know eachother very well, we know what we can all bring to the table and when we enter the studio and we’re here for world domination. Believe you me, you haven’t heard the best music. Ice prince and Jesse Jags are far more talented and the girls are just out of this world. Look forward to fantastic music from Loopy Records.
Talk about your new Mixtape album: Illegal Music
‘Illegal Music’ is an idea to sort of allude to the mixtape culture in America, along the way I sort of missed that, because, Mixtapes – you just bite other people’s beats and rap on them but along the way, what I did was just make my own music and I don’t know how people are gonna receive it because a lot of the songs are not pop songs, it’s just my music, it’s weird, it’s different, you know what I mean. I’m gonna try and shoot videos for every song on ‘Illegal Music’ and put on Youtube, maybe not the most fantastic videos, but just something that people can watch. It’s about me trying to be cool on some songs and me just loving some samples so much that I made other songs out of them.
Your Dad’s a Preacher, so we’re guessing you grew up with strong xtian values, how does that affect the kind of Music you make?
I do have strong Christian values, I don’t know if my Dad has heard ‘Teaser’ and I don’t know how they’ll receive it, if they do but my parents know that everything I say is centred around a central theme, although I might stray a little bit just to try and bring people, you know, walk away from the building, as it were, to go and bring people back to the building, my values are the same: talking about struggle, talking about change, about hope, about beauty, about life, about love, about being good, being pure, being right, you know. Not to be pretentious, I do have the occassional Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels, you know what I mean, I’m not gonna tell people I don’t. I, however, don’t smoke; I have had relationships and have had physical relationships with girls. I’m not gonna lie about that just to try to be cool, I’m just honest with my music; I try not to be just meaningless in my music.
You’ve been proclaimed the Future of Naija Rap, what do you feel about that?
I think that’s a bit of an oxymoron. The future’s what’s next. The future’s always what’s coming soon. So if I’m the future that means I’m not right now, when I do arrive it means somebody else is gonna be the future. It’s nice; I understand where people are coming from when they say that. I hope to be the future, the present, the past. In the future, I hope to be the past, the present and the future also. I hope to continue doing music. I do think that a lot of people that have listened to M.I are gonna come out and make far more fantastic music, are gonna open new doors, new avenues and it’s important to realize you’re just a link in the chain. eLDee paid his dues so that some other people could do it, so that Mode 9 and Ruggedman could, Mode 9 and Ruggedman came, they made their music so that other people could come. That’s how it is; even tracing fans back to Junior & Pretty. It’s just a chain, so when you’re here don’t let it get to your head too much, don’t think you’re the ish too much, it’s just your moment, it’s just you’re time, do what you must, raise the bar, raise the industry standard and bow out when your time is over.
What were the first Hip Hop albums you bought and how did you encounter Rap?
DMX – ‘Its Dark And Hell is Hot’; Mase – ‘Harlem World’; Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill; Talib Kweli – ‘Quality’. Those were the first Hip Hop albums I really got into. I had heard a lot of Hip Hop music, infact I think my first encounters with Hip Hop were probably with Heavy D – ‘Let It Rain’ and off course: Snoop Dogg, when Snoop Dogg first came out, it was really big, all over the world and I really loved it.
What inspires your Music content, lyrics and beats?
For music, I just listen to other people’s music and try and create new ideas or try and steal something I’ve heard, I mean, it’s an ever continuing process with making music, you have to keep on working at it. The songs, though, are inspired by the ideas, the content is inspired by things I see, so I try to open myself up to experiences around me as much as possible when I’m working on projects. Then, lyrically, you just go in there and work and work.
Eminem is known to give his life to the public through his Music and that’s one of the reasons he’s been so successful, how much of your personal experiences do you put in your Music?
I try to give as much of my personal experiences and I think on my second record people will hear a lot more about M.I than I think they even want to, but I think it’s important to put yourself in there because people can hear honesty, they can hear truth they can relate to. Every rapper is trying to say “I’m the flyest Rapper; I have 2 Bentleys and stuff”. Right now, as we talk to you, I don’t have a car yet, I’m still staying with my friend, some people may laugh about it, they might tease that but it’s my story. I know where I’m going to, it doesn’t bother me. I know where I’m coming from. We’re not gonna tell people “Here I am and this is what we’re doing and blah blah blah”. You know, it’s important to tell them “I’ve hustled to get where I am, and from here I’m moving somewhere else”. So let’s bend down, put our hands in the dirt and work and get where we’re going.
Other than your brother Jesse Jags, which Nigerian Rappers keep you on your toes?
Ice Prince, Vector, Pherowshuwz, 5 Mics, Naeto C, Gino, Ill Bliss, Blaise, Kel, Loose kaynon, Whizkid, Gomez from Knighthouse, Tha Suspect. There are just so many people, the list is endless and this is not to mention people that are outside the country like proto, people like Temi Pepe who I just listened to last night, just amazing, amazing crop of young talent that are coming out. You have to keep working.
You sing almost as well as you Rap, ever considered making an album like kanye’s 808’s & Heartbreak?
I’m not gonna sing on a whole album in the nearest future. I think singing should be left to professional singers. It’s cool when we do one thing or half a thing on a song, however, singing should be left to the professionals, also, though, is the fact that Kanye West’s 808’s is not even just about him singing, it’s about his content and I do have an album in the works which will be the second international project, which is called ‘Love Songs About Rap’. I’m like 4 or 5 songs deep into that, it’s gonna be a fantastic project, it’s about love music, love songs, and its all rap songs, it’s interesting.
We’ve got the album: Talk about it, we’ve got the Mixtape, when are we expecting the international album?
I actually don’t know. I wanted to release it January 1st, it hasn’t worked out. So many things go into making a record and pushing it out there. As soon as possible, I will say that, it will not be mass released though; it will be released as minimally as I can just so that it’s people that are really interested in the music that can buy it. So look out for ‘One’, buy it if it comes out and if not enjoy the Mixtape.
You left Nigeria as a student to school in the US, came back to practice as a Rapper, how did your parent’s take that?
My parents were cool, my Dad calls me M.I. Every time I call, he’s like “M.I”, I’m like “Daddy, I’m not M.I” but he’s like “You’re becoming M.I and M.I has more money than Jude, so I want M.I to be my son”. They are cool, they had some reservations and Jesse Jags is always talking about how our parents were like”no, no, don’t do music”. In all fairness to them, they supported us, they would have liked it if we had another job, but they supported us. They really tried. Shout out to my parents: the Abagas.
How has M.I changed between when he first dropped ‘Crowd Mentality’ and now?
I’ve gained weight. I’ve not grown a lot taller. I’m a lot more busy now. I’m not able to be in touch with as much people as I’d like to. I’m a lot more focused. I’m a lot more aware of what the industry requires and a lot more hungry to achieve.
What influence has M.I had on the life of Jude Abaga?
Jude is a nice playful guy. M.I has swag. M.I is cool. M.I doesn’t make too much noise. M.I likes True Religion jeans. M.I doesn’t take bus. He has had some influence but it’s important to remember that it’s just a job. It will come and go. What’s important is doing your music to the best of your ability and when it’s time to quit, walk away from it, don’t let the hype kill you.
What’s coming next from M.I after music; Business ventures, fashion, Books, Movies?
A lot of business ventures. I do wanna dabble into fashion, I’m not gonna put myself as the face or the brand. I just like Jeans so much I wanna have my own jean linedown the road. I think I have a lot of insight into what TV and movies can be. I’m not gonna act professionally, I don’t think I will be an actor, I will stay within the zone of what I’m good at, which is music and production. However, we will spread out, but I think it’s important to conquer and solidify where we’re at.
You used to maintain a blog on your Myspace page, but not anymore, what changed that?
We’re going back to that, I’m gonna have my blogspot and I’ll put up a new blog. Actually what happened was that a fantastic lady called Mickey had me writing for her newspaper, like a blog on her newspaper, so I used to put it up on my blog too. When that sort of died off because I was too busy, the blog sort of died, but I’ll do more of that soon. I really wanna keep in touch as much as I can.
The average ‘Abuja based’ artiste is unable to take his music to the National level, you were able to achieve that and more in the space of 2 years, how did you do it?
I think that for the ‘Abuja based’ artiste, it is important to come to Lagos, you might be lucky to have such a fantastic song that everybody round the country is feeling you. But incase you’re a human being like myself; you need to come to Lagos and work at pushing your music, push your brand. The rest of the industry is in Lagos.
You called her the first lady of Hip Hop, does the Boy date Kel?
Kel said I shouldn’t tell anybody if we are or not. I will say this, we’re good friends and yes, I got a girl, but no, you don’t know her or at least I’m working on it.
Thank you for your time, M.I.
Thank you, it’s been fantastic doing this interview. Big ups. Peace.
(Note: This interview was conducted sometime very early in the year)
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