Jude ‘MI’ Abaga, aka The Guy dropped his highly publicised and anticipated album ‘The Guy’ on 19th August and it is still trending on major streaming platforms.
Naija Apple Music and Deezer have it as the no. 1 trending hip-hop/rap album, while it was No. 4 in the last UK Apple music search.
After being away from the rap game for a brief minute, MI’s The Guy – his 5th solo album (excluding EPs and Mixtapes) – is a compilation of more than just lyrics.
A perusal of the 13 other artists featured on this project gives an air of bewilderment, but for as unique and different the artists are, MI maintains his own flavour on each track and it seems to work.
Artists on ‘The Guy’ Album
Nas, Olamide, Duncan Mighty, Wande Coal, Chills, BNXN (Buju) Lord Vido, Ossi Grace, The Cavemen, Phyno, Tomi Owo and ofcourse, his day ones – Ice Prince and his brother, Jesse Jagz.
MI carefully picks his collaborators and they span different regions of the country and the world, covering varying musical genres.
There are male and female acts, indigenous artist and English lyricists (American and Nigerian), as well as young bloods and OGs in the music game.
The themes projected in MI’s The Guy include; Self-confidence – bordering on some imodest arrogance – Love, Celebration, brotherhood and hardwork.
MI drops bars about his journey and contributions to the rap game, he addresses beef with comrades, upcoming acts and his current stand on them, as well as the hopes and dreams for the future.
Love is a dominant theme that appears in songs like ‘The Front Door’ ft Duncan Mighty, ‘The Inside’ ft The Cavemen and Phyno, then quite obviously, ‘The Love Song’ which features Wande Coal.
What is the appeal of ‘The Guy’?
There seems to something for everyone.
The Guy album received over 1 million streams in under 24 hours, making the top 200 Albums on Apple Music US at that time.
Comedian, Sabinus ‘Mr Funny’ did a skit with track 5 – ‘The front door’ – which features Duncan Mighty. Sabinus is seen alighting from a Pick up just as Duncan sings, “Odo open your door, Odo“.
Twitter user, @The_khalvin writes, “I love how @MI_Abaga always finds a way to talk about the things that actually matter on every album… Guy you’re amazing“.
“There is no how you won’t love @MI_Abaga after hearing #theguyalbum. Thank you M for good music always. you are #TheGuy”, writes @just_lakeside
Writing by Makcit Rindap; editing by Muzha Kucha