MI Abaga’s new album, “The Guy” is here. It has already made charts in 21 countries’ Apple top 100 and counting. If you’ve been itching to hear a fresh rap project, you might want to get comfortable. Without wasting any time, let’s jump right into what “The Guy” is all about.
“The Guy” dropped a few weeks before the complete album release. And, I’m not sure what I was more impressed with on this. The lyricism, or the sublime production. Also, “The guy” has a steady tempo that reminds me of UK street rap, and I loved every bit of it. Basically, Mister Incredible is just giving us a not-so-subtle reminder of who he is (not was). “…I’m the guy, ask the guy you thought was the guy”. In my opinion, this was a ten out of ten way to start MI Abaga’s new album, The Guy
the hate
We are not strangers to the amount of hate the incredible rapper has gotten over the last couple of years. “The Hate” addresses all this toxicity and anger. MI admits he talks without a filter sometimes. Instead, he asks if we can replace all that with curiosity and respect. This is a song that goes right into it, no chorus, no hook. It’s as if he was like, you know what, let’s get right to the koko. What’s up with all the hate though?
The next track, “Bigger,” features Olamide and Nas. One important thing MI wanted us to take from this song is that it is indeed possible for the African community to see artists like him standing on the same plane as their global colleagues, and that is where Nas came in with an incredible delivery. I have to say, MI is one persistent person. If you are a fan, you’ll know how long he has been trying to get Nas on a track with him and it finally happened. Subsequently, MI took to his Twitter to thank Olamide for the great chorus he came up with literally overnight. He was even more impressed with the smooth experience of working with Olamide. “… Olamide, you are truly one of the greatest artists of all time. You are a legend and I am honored to work with you. Life changer for real”
mI Abaga x lord vino
I can almost hear fans of Lord Vino say “finally!”. This collaboration has been long coming, and I think they did what they had to do. If I could pick favorites from MI Abaga’s new album The Guy, this would be one of my top picks. “Soft Life Tony” is a song everyone can relate to, with witty and catchy lyrics that had me from the first verse. Who doesn’t like the soft life? Using Tony Elumelu as a literal case study. MI was finishing up the album when he heard and fell in love with the hook by Vino, and so did I. MI’s delivery, plus Vino’s fire hook and those log drums from Amapiano? Definitely worth listening to. Be right back, going to tweet “I just wan soft like Tony”.
“Front Door” features Duncan Mighty and was recorded four years ago. In a smooth blend of highlife fusion, it talks about marrying the right person. Personally, I think it is a good song but not a great song. Although do you think the fact that it was recorded four years ago has something to do with why it doesn’t sound so… fresh? You tell me.
Believe it or not, the toxic love MI speaks about on “Crazy” ft Ossi Grace is not about a woman, but about social media. Twitter, to be precise. Whew! What did I say about all the hate he gets?
the love song in mI Abaga’s new album
“The love song” features Wande Coal and speaks about how beautiful it is to be at home with someone. Of course, Wande Coal didn’t disappoint, but let’s just say I wasn’t too eager to go back for a third listen as I had other favourites from MI Abaga’s new album “The Guy”.
Where are all my Highlife people at? One thing I must comment on about this album, though, is MI’s inclusion of just about as many genres as he could. “The Inside” features Phyno and The Cavemen. Wondering just how well the rapper fused his sound with these other sounds? I honestly think he did a great job out of it. In MI’s words, “It’s our music in all its colours”
The next song is “Daddy” ft Chillz. It gave me Bop Daddy, It gave me laid back, it gave me MI the guy. And I certainly did not hate it.
Basically, this is a more serious song that takes us on a whole new journey of emotional honesty. It’s one you might want to sit up for. “Soldier” features Tomi Owo. It particularly calls us out to pay attention to just how toxic toxic masculinity can get. In trying to get rid of the patriarchy, we shouldn’t drive our men into dark places they may never recover from. This is because they need avenues to talk about exactly how they feel without the fear of being called ‘weak’. This track takes me back to MI’s 2018 project, A Study on Self Worth: Yxng Dxnzl.
“Blessed” features BXNXN and is basically talking about being blessed, which is right on track with BXNXN’s recent success. “…I am blessed from my head to my steps”. It is another prayer for us to affirm every day.
the end of mI Abaga’s new album “the guy”
Finally, MI’s new album “The Guy” takes us back with a Choc Boiz reunion. “More Life” features Ice Prince and Jesse Jagz, and I’m telling you, the nostalgia hit almost immediately. What Jesse Jagz did on this track was fire, and if there’s another song I’ll have on repeat for a minute, it’s this one.
So, do you think MI’s new album, “The Guy” shows us who the guy really is? Because I think he did.. speaking about love and blessings, masculinity, and toxic cultures that have become normalized. MI also refers to this project as a journey of self-discovery, and that I can agree to.
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