2017 Tutu Fellow Jude Abaga - known more famously in the music world as M.I Abaga, the Nigerian hip hop star - became the first African artist with five albums in Apple Music's Top 100 Album Charts. In his Twitter feed, he thanked his fans for helping all his albums reach that pinnacle. Doubtless the smack talk amongst rappers is going to be fierce, but it is an accolade that speaks for itself.
Jude is a producer and has been the CEO of Chocolate City since June 2015. He won Best Hip Hop and Best New Act at the 2009 MTV Africa Music Awards, and was nominated in the Best International Act category at the BET Awards in 2010.
He rose to prominence in 2006 when his song Crowd Mentality became popular in his hometown of Jos. His critically acclaimed debut studio album Talk About It was released in 2008. That album was followed by MI 2: The Movie two years later.
Four years after that, he released The Chairman as his third studio album. M.I Abaga released the playlist Rendezvous in 2018 and in August of the same year, he released his fourth studio album A Study On Self Worth: Yxng Dxnzl. He has said that this latter album, which tackles major life issues like loyalty, self-worth, depression, mental health and politics, was influenced by his experiences during the Tutu Leadership Programme, which prompts self-reflection.
Aside from leading Chocolate City, which is one of Africa’s largest indigenous record labels, Jude is also a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador.
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