Rap Joint Lagos

Never in the history of naija rap has an album ever been as anticipated as MI’s sophomore album “MI2 The Movie”, MI’s ascendancy in the naija rap game is a relatively known one, from his critically acclaimed debut album “Talk about It” to his groundbreaking “Illegal Music” mixtape, Mi simply took the naija rap scene by storm and ever since he has not looked back. MI 2: The Movie (also known as MI 2) is the second studio album by Nigerian rapper M.I Abaga. It was released on November 23, 2010, by Chocolate City.The album is the follow-up to his 2008 debut Talk About It. It features guest appearances from 2face Idibia, Bola Adebisi, Brymo, Flavour, Ice Prince, Jesse Jagz, Julius Ceaser, Femi Odukoya, Loose Kaynon, Praiz, Ruby Gyang, Timaya and Waje. In MI 2: The Movie, M.I addresses a wide array of topics, such as corruption, poor education, the Niger Delta crisis, shooting, looting, and the sexual objectification of women.The album was ranked as the best Nigerian album of 2010 by music blog Jaguda.It won Best Rap Album and was nominated for Album of the Year at The Headies 2011. The comical intro “prelude” fits perfectly to the movie theme as MI does his best impersonation of saving a damsel in distress, this is quickly followed by the Brymo assisted “Action Film”, where MI shows that he is still the same actor we all know and love with lines like “yo, back with my new flow/ for the club, for the streets, for the studios/in my new crib, new car, new clothes/same actor, different year, new boss”.  M.I switches up his lyrical flow and beats, by taking on Nigeria’s traditional genre of music called ‘high-life.’ This genre typically appeals to a more mature crowd but in recent times has produced hip-life music greats, like Nigeria’s J-Martins and Timaya, that appeal to both young and old. The track, Track 4 titled ‘Number One ft. Flavor’ shows hip-hop can blend seamlessly with high-life. The sound is beautiful M.I is clearly not leaving any fan behind: old, young, Nigerian or otherwise. On ‘One Naira,’ despite Waje’s strong vocals as a feature on the track, there is no confusion on whose album it is. M.I gives a poetic type performance reminding us a big part of rap is poetry. The track is about relationships and loyalty. Loyalty “whether na one Naira, or 1 million. Baby you got me,” loosely translated to mean whether you are rich or poor (one dollar vs one million dollars), you got me. The album takes on another path as ‘Wild Wild West’ portrays the ills and sudden unrest in Judo’s hometown Jos. ‘Craze’ also depicts the current deforming situation of the country, as M.I relates his disgust for corruption. Nobody’ featuring Tuface is a great collaboration and both artistes render superb performances on a subject that touches their personal lives.It focuses on the various types of ‘beef’ that accompany fame and fortune for those in the spotlight. M.I raps ”Ask Timaya, ask Wande/follow you bumper to bumper on Sunday/but do you yumu yumu on a Monday…if your fine boy too much they say you turn gay/if you make too much cash they say it’s ’19, or its drugs or it’s fraud…” “beef” works well as he addresses his beef with Iceberg Slim & Kelly Hansome with simple yet thought provoking lines like “See musicians tryna beef me for real son/maybe they doin it to promote their album/they know that using my name will help them sell some/so Iceberg it’s alright you are welcome/but I’m not in their league help me tell them/the super eagles don’t play against the falcons/see wor wor pikin dey form handsome/kelechukwu clap for yourself, well done”. Generally, there are mixed feelings about this album while some fans tagged it as one of the greatest Nigerian Hiphop albums ever released, others felt it was too commercial for a critically acclaimed Rap Album. But one thing we can all agree on is that MI2 The Movie was a great Album.

Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974 – February 15, 1999), better known by his stage name, Big L, was an American Rapper from Manhattan, New York. His first professional appearance came on the remix of Lord Finesse’s “Yes You May” in 1992, and later became a member of collective D.I.T.C. (Diggin In The Crates) due to his association with Finesse. Coleman released his debut album, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, in 1995, and significantly contributed to the underground hip hop scene in New York. Shortly before his death, he created his own independent label, Flamboyant Entertainment, on which he released one of his best-known singles, “Ebonics”, in 1998. The main components of Coleman’s lyrical technique were a straight forward matter-of-fact style, multi-syllabic rhyming and a rough sense of humor. Many of his songs feature violent and homicidal lyrics, with songs “All Black” and “Devil’s Son” being prominent examples of his use of the sub-genre horrorcore.On February 15, 1999, Coleman was fatally shot by an unknown assailant in his hometown Harlem, a neighborhood of Manhattan. His second studio album, The Big Picture, was put together by Coleman’s Manager, Rich King. It was released the following year and was certified gold. Four posthumous albums have been released, mainly consisting of unreleased songs which were put together by Rich King and Coleman’s brother Donald. Coleman was born in Harlem, Manhattan, New York on May 30, 1974 as the youngest and third child of Gilda Terry (d. 2008) and Charles Davis. His father left the family when Coleman was a child. His two siblings were Donald and Leroy “Big Lee” Phinazee (d. 1999). At the age of 12, Coleman became a big fan of hip hop and began freestyling against people in his own neighborhood. Around this time, Coleman adopted the stage name “Big L”, a reference to his childhood nickname “Little L”.  Coleman attended Julia Richman High School. While in high school, Coleman freestyle battled in his hometown; in his last interview, he stated, “In the beginning, all I ever saw me doing was battling everybody on the street corners, rhyming in the hallways, beating on the wall, rhyming to my friends. Every now and then, a house party, grab the mic, a block party, grab the mic.” He graduated from high school in 1992. He formed a group with three which was called ‘Three the hard way’. The group eventually fizzled out due to lack of enthusiasm. ‘Rodney’, Coleman, ‘Doc Reem’ made up the trio of the group. After ‘Rodney’ left the group they were renamed as ‘Two hard motherfuckers’. This was the time when Little L came to be called as Big L. Lamont recorded several demo videos. Several of these videos were later included in his debut album which was titled Lifestyle ov da poor and dangerous. Lord Finesse was at an autograph event at a record shop where Coleman did a freestyle. Following this Coleman and Finesse exchanged numbers. Several people close to Big L remember the time when Big L was brought onto the stage by Finesse and there were some really good moments created. He appeared alongside Finesse in the Yo! MTV ‘s Raps to promote the latter’s ‘Return of the Funky Man’.Nubian productions had held a freestyle battle in which Lamont triumphed over 2000 contestants. A deal sign with Colombia pictures happened. The first single ‘Devil Son’ was released in 1993. As Big L recounted, he was a great fan of horror flicks. They fascinated him. Plus he recounted that he had seen very horrible things in Harlem. All these put together inspired him to come out in the single track. He performed at the Birthday bash of Finesse among Fat Joe, Diamond D and Nas. In the year 1994, Coleman released Clinic which was a promotional single too. In the month of July the same year a radio edit version of ‘Put it on’ was released. In three months’ time the video was released for the public to enjoy. The following year, he released ‘No Endz, No Skinz’.Brian Luvar directed this single.Lifestyle ov da poor and dangerous released in the year 1995, in the month of March. It came out at 149 on Billboard and number 22 on Top R & B/ Hip hop albums. As of the year 2000, the album sold 200,000 copies. In 1996 he was dropped from Colombia which was due to disputes with the production on the grounds of his rapping style. Big L recounts the experience as being among a bunch of strangers who did not know anything about music. Big L started working on ‘The Big Picture’ which happens to be the second studio album. Big L had formed a group Children of the Corn along with Killa Cam, Bloodshed, and Murda Mase. On March 2, 1997 this group closed as Bloodshed died in a car accident. In 1998 Flamboyant entertainment was formed as an independent label. In 1998, Ebonics, the next single was released. One of the famous hip hop murders is that of Lamont. In his childhood, Big L was constantly involved in battles in the neighborhood. He himself saw that he would be rhyming and battling in his future. He made enemies of which one of them had caught up. Big L lies buried in the George Washington Memorial park which is in Paramus in New Jersey. On 15th of February in 1999 on the 45 West 139th street he was shot a total of 9 times in the head as well as the chest in Harlem. Big L’s friend from childhood Gerard Woodley was arrested for the crime but later, amidst controversy he was released. The murder case remains a mystery till date. The New York police believe that it could have been a revenge for childhood act which Woodley believed to have happened. Whether it did or not is unsure.Coleman’s first posthumous single was “Flamboyant” b/w “On the Mic”, which was released on May 30, 2000. The single peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and topped the Hot Rap Tracks, making it Coleman’s first and only

Christopher George Latore Wallace was born on May 21, 1972. He is better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie. He was an American rapper and songwriter. Wallace was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on May 21, 1972. He was the only child of Jamaican immigrant parents. His mother, Voletta Wallace, was a preschool teacher, while his father, Selwyn George Latore, was a welder and politician. His father left the family when Wallace was two years old, and his mother worked two jobs while raising him. He was nicknamed “Big” because he was overweight by the age of 10 Wallace claimed to have begun dealing drugs at about age 12. His mother, often at work, first learned of this during his adulthood. He began rapping as a teenager, entertaining people on the streets, and performed with local groups, the Old Gold Brothers as well as the Techniques. His earliest stage name was MC CWest. At his request, Wallace was transferred from Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene to George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School in Downtown Brooklyn, which future rappers Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes were also attending. According to his mother, Wallace was still a good student but developed a “smart-ass” attitude at the new school.  At age 17 in 1989, Wallace dropped out of high school and became more involved in crime. That same year in 1989, he was arrested on weapons charges in Brooklyn and sentenced to five years’ probation. In 1990, he was arrested on a violation of his probation. A year later, Wallace was arrested in North Carolina for dealing crack cocaine. He spent nine months in jail before making bail. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Wallace signed to Sean “Puffy” Combs’s label Bad Boy Records as it launched in 1993, and gained exposure through features on several other artists’ singles that year. His debut album Ready to Die (1994) was met with widespread critical acclaim, and included his signature songs “Juicy” and “Big Poppa”. The album made him the central figure in East Coast hip hop, and restored New York’s visibility at a time when the West Coast hip hop scene was dominating hip hop music. Wallace was awarded the 1995 Billboard Music Awards’ Rapper of the Year. The following year, he led his protégé group Junior M.A.F.I.A., a team of himself and longtime friends, including Lil’ Kim, to chart success. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap traditions, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laid-back lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics’ often grim content. His music was often semi-autobiographical, telling of hardship and criminality, but also of debauchery and celebration. Biggie had earlier had a daughter with his earlier girlfriend Jan Jackson named T’yanna. He later dated Lil Kim; a member of his crew -Juniour MAFIA. He later met Faith Evans and they got married just eight days after. He was quoted saying “I married her after knowing her for eight days and I was happy. That was my baby,” he said to Vibe magazine. He conceded that the speed of their courtship did not provide a solid foundation. “We should have got to know each other and then got married”. Wallace was murdered in a drive-by shooting while visiting Los Angeles on March 9, 1997. The assailant remains unidentified. The murder was thought to be the culmination of an ongoing feud between rap music artists from the East and West coasts. Just six months earlier, rapper Tupac Shakur was killed when he was shot while in his car in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Ironically, Wallace’s death came only weeks before his new album, titled Life After Death, was scheduled to be released. The murder of Biggie has never been solved, though it has been suggested that either Marion “Suge” Knight, the former head of Death Row Records, Shakur’s label, or the Crips gang may be responsible. Knight was also shot (but not wounded seriously) in the fatal Las Vegas attack on Shakur and is rumored to have engineered a retaliatory strike against Wallace, whom he held responsible for the Las Vegas shooting. With two more posthumous albums released, Wallace has certified sales of over 28 million copies in the United States, including 21 million albums. Rolling Stone has called him the “greatest rapper that ever lived”, and Billboard named him the greatest rapper of all time. The Source magazine named him the greatest rapper of all time in its 150th issue. In 2006, MTV ranked him at No. 3 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time, calling him possibly “the most skillful ever on the mic”. In 2020, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Before his death, Biggie had plans to begin a clothing line called Brooklyn Mint to cater for plus size customers but this suffered a setback as a result of his death. On the 16 September 2020, B.I.G.’s crown was auctioned off for $600,000 with proceeds going to his foundation, “Think Big”- with the BIG representing Books instead of Guns. The car in which Notorious B.I.G. was fatally shot was also put up for auction, with the seller of the GMC Suburban supposedly seeking £1.25 million. Although life might have been snuffed out of the “King of New York” in his prime, we are left to ponder on what the mic god might have achieved if he had been around for longer. Make no mistake though, the only Christopher we recognize in this rap game is Wallace. References: Life after death: How the Notorious B.I.G. lives on 25 years after his murder – CHUCK Anold The Unsolved Mystery of the Notorious B.I.G – Randall Sullivan