Jude Abaga (born 4 October 1981), better known as M.I Abaga, is a Nigerian rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence in 2006 when his song “Crowd Mentality” became popular in Jos, Nigeria. His debut studio album Talk About It was released in 2008.

The LP was succeeded by MI 2: The Movie (2010). Four years after that, he released The Chairman as his third studio album. Abaga released the playlist Rendezvous in February 2018. In August of that year, he released his fourth studio album A Study On Self Worth: Yxng Dxnzl.

Abaga was CEO of Chocolate City from 2015 to 2019. In March 2020, he announced his exit from the label and launched his own record label Incredible Music.

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 2010.

Jude’s venture in the hip hop world started with the sampling of musical works from DMX and Lauryn Hill as early as 1998. After his stint at Calvin College, Michigan, US, he delved into poetry while pursuing a career in Business and Economics. There, he performed regularly at the school’s major hip hop shows and concerts. His impressive rap flows and attitude gained him a third-place finish at the Calvin College show tagged ‘HipHopera’ in 2003, which was actually the only “hip hop show” that Calvin College ever had. M.I. also made some amateur attempts at comedy, but decided to stick to music because he was embarrassed when nobody laughed but him.

Studio albums
Talk About It (2008)
MI 2: The Movie (2010)
The Chairman (2014)
A Study on Self Worth: Yxng Dxnzl (2018)
Compilation albums
The Indestructible Choc Boi Nation (with Chocolate City) (2015)
Mixtapes and playlists
Illegal Music (2009)
Illegal Music 2 (2012)
Illegal Music 3: The Finale (2016)
Rendezvous (2018)
EPs
Judah (2020)
The Live Report (with A-Q) (2020)

Filmography
Year Movie Role
2018 Chief Daddy Mr. X
2021 Namaste Wahala Self