M.I Abaga

Jude was born in Jos, Plateau State. His parents, Pastor and Mrs. Abaga, are from Takum, Taraba state, both of Jukun-Nigerian descent. He 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.[6] Jude has two brothers, Jesse Jagz, who is also in the Nigerian and African music scene, and Jason Abaga. During Jude's adolescence, he would listen to tracks from Lauryn Hill, Bob Marley, Sarah Maclachlan, Pablo Neruda, Jay-Z and DMX.[7][8]

Jude's venture into the hip hop world started with the sampling of musical works from DMX and Lauryn Hill as early as 1998. After his time at Calvin College, Michigan, US, he delved into poetry while pursuing a career in Business and Economics.[6] There, he performed regularly at the school's major hip hop shows and concerts. His rapping gained him a third-place finish at the Calvin College show named 'Hip Hopera' in 2003,[6] which was the only "hip hop show" that Calvin College has ever had. M.I. also made some amateur attempts at comedy, but decided to stick to music.[9]

Jude began his music career when he returned to Nigeria in 2003. Finding his place in an industry dominated by the likes of Modenine, Ruggedman and Eedris Abdulkareem, he quickly commenced the production of mixtapes with his friend Djinee. This led to the critically acclaimed single "Safe" (a song which he parodied popular Nigerian songs in its lyrics) which 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 among others.

The hype surrounding the release of Safe led to the critical acclaim given to his first studio album titled Talk About It which was rated 8.5/10 by Oye Akideinde of 360nobs [10][11] The album gathered awards such as Musician of the Year (Modemen Awards in 2008) and Best Hip Hop Artist (City People Awards).[12] His first mixtape was PYERIBOY. He later released a sample mixtape titled Illegal Music in 2009.[13] The mixtape was followed by Illegal Music II which was released in 2012.

Back in Jos, Nigeria, he established Loopy Music with his brother, Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince, Ruby, Threadstone, Lindsay, Moses (Elbulk), and E kelly. M.I was eventually signed to the Chocolate City firm, a well-known music label in Nigeria, which forced him to relocate from Jos to the nation's capital, Abuja, and influenced the start 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 the American BET Awards. A proficient producer, lyricist, songwriter and instrumentalist, M.I has been described by DIV as the future of African hip-hop.[9] He has produced and featured on the works of artists like, Don Jazzy, Threadstone (Nigeria's first rock band ), Kel, Djinee, Shifi (Styl Plus), Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince, Hyce-age, Ruby, Lindsey, Leony, Wizkid etc. He also runs a production company, Rychus Era Productions with his brother Jesse Abaga (Jesse Jagz). In 2013 he was appointed by Nigerian telecommunication company Glo Mobile as a brand ambassador alongside other Nigerian artistes like Omawumi, Burna Boy etc. He was also a judge in Glo X-Factor, the Nigerian version of the reality singing show in 2013.

Illegal Music 3 - The Finale was released on 29 February 2016. The ten-track mixtape was made available online for free, gathering over 400,000 downloads in just three days.

On 9 February 2018 a seventh studio project titled Rendezvous, a playlist with a style generally different from the regular. The project came as a surprise to fans as it was released merely a day after the rapper announced the release date for Yxng Dxnzl.

Yxng Dxnzl (pronounced Yung Denzl) was itself released on 24 August 2018, about three months later than the initial release date. The album was tagged "A Study on Self Worth" and included the single You Rappers Should Fix Up Your Lives - which triggered a slew of responses.[14][15] The album was released as part of a collection of Nigerian rap albums titled LAMB August, with the aim of re-awakening rap music in Nigeria.[16] All three albums, Crown by A-Q and Loose Kaynon, Yung Denzl by M.I Abaga & BadBoyBlaq by Blaqbonez were executively produced by M.I.[17] On 6 March 2020, the rapper announced his departure from Chocolate City after 13 years of being a part of the label.[18] In December 2022 M.I Abaga was featured in Africa Cypher (Hennessy Cypher) that happened in Nigeria, the Cypher also featured artists such as A-Reece, Vector, M.anifest and Octopizzo.

On 22 September 2022, M.I and Eniola Mafe married in Lagos.[19][20]

Tripol of Blaze-A-Mic describes M.I's flow as "easy going but packed full of punches".[21] Similarities in styles have also been drawn to renowned rappers such as Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z. Those who know M.I. well have also compared his ego with both that of Kanye West and Jay-Z.[9]

M.I. has been responsible for bringing out many upcoming artists such as Phyno, Wizkid, Vypa, Jesse Jagz, Ruby, Pype, Tone Ice Prince, Brymo, and Khali Graph Jones. He has been described by many Nigerian hip hop fans as Nigeria's "Hip Hop Messiah".[22] MI has done a lot to bring a Northern presence to the Nigerian music industry, as he depicts the perfect example of bringing Nigeria together. He is the founder of Loopy Records and Incredible Music. M.I also worked in music production with Chocolate City and has produced albums and songs for his label mates. The most notable of these being in 2011 when he produced two songs off Ice Prince's album Everybody Loves Ice Prince and recently Ruby Gyang's Good Man off her "This Is Love" Ep.

M.I was appointed a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador in 2012.[23][24] M.I also supports the Jostified campaign.[25] He has achieved worldwide recognition as part of the vanguard of the "Afrobeats" wave.[26][27]