All hail

All Falls Down floats out of my speakers as words take shape on my gadget screen. MI raps "for a decade I've been pushing this hip-hop." And for a second it hit; that wasn't tall tale. He really has been rapping just about that long since he first rained our consciousness with the release of Safe.

"Never been pop still I'm the father to all rhymers" he raps on former label mate, Milli's, Back to the future. A responsibility he seems to take seriously especially after hearing his latest single 'YRSFUYL'.  Considering the recent trend where Nigerian rappers mesmerize fans with elaborate, scintillating bars and flows only to leave them hanging mid-awe to jump on pop bus.

Mr. Abaga has stayed true to the business of rapping. Given the unprofitable terrain the Nigerian music scene affords musicians who are not pop enthused, this pattern shouldn't come as a surprise. Let's not be our village people and knock their hustle. These men have social responsibilities and loved ones to fend for. And if Naija rap music business will not so much as guarantee money to brag about, genres get switched like a shuffle playlist.

But it isn't just about the inherent rap skill and wordplays. It's the ability to make tracks that illuminate the rapper's state of mind in crystal clear manner but furnished with artistic deliveries. Does he feel threatened by haters and insolent rappers, he'll make music like Not Just OK/Savage.

Does he feel unappreciated by fans? he makes Remember Me. Does he feel appreciative of fans' love, he make Yours.  MI's music still possesses the capacity to portray the rapper's state of mind; a fountain rappers and fans alike can draw infinite inspiration from.

Illegal Music 3 dropped sometime last year and it was arguably the hardest rap body of work the industry has seen since *insert your favourite rap project*

Let it be known in no uncertain terms MI is already a legendary character in Nigerian rap lore. Oh, your favorite rapper would agree there was something about his come up that made rap enthusiasts and then some believe in Naija rap. Along with his fellow choc boys, they made the rap scene this side of Eden pop.

A new album MI tweeted may drop this October, has fans drowning in anticipation. In an industry where little quality now comes out of music compilations, MI still compiles a good body of work. Fans would expect this to be of more of a semblance to projects like MI2 and Talk About It, following the high skip to replay ratio The Chairman album showed.

In the new album, MI promises to contain features such as buzzing talent, Tay Iwar; he is sticking to shining light on promising acts as previous projects like MI2 and Illegal Music mixtape series were known for doing.

Mixed reactions may have trailed the release of YRSFUYL. For all of MI’s flaws brought up to invalidate his liberty to release such a song, one thing is certain: the Nigerian rap scene needed a commanding wakeup call and who else is better fit to sound the alarm than the short black boy.

Written by Chayce Kachi

Music, books, finance... few things you might find me occupied with. Oh, and Drake has three classics.