Diminutive, with an oblong face, looking so much like Jude his elder brother, that one could even mistake them for each other. Interestingly, they are both lyricists and have numerous fans all around Nigeria and beyond.

By Jerry Musa



Jesse Jagz, who has now returned to Chocolate City, has gotten tongues wagging on why he left in the first place. Jesse Garba Abaga, popularly known as Jesse Jagz needs no much introduction to followers of the fast-growing Nigerian music industry. Having cut his teeth in Jos, Plateau State capital, alongside M.I his brother, with the likes of Jeremiah Gyan and D’Jinee among others, the Taraba State indigene has steadily risen through the ranks.

Starting off from a music-crazy environment like Jos, where he began as a church chorister and drummer at age seven, thereafter, he later recorded his first album with a group named Gospel Insanity. Unfortunately, the album never got released, due to group differences. He then began to produce beats and instrumentals professionally and formed another group, called “Eleven Thirty” which became an instant success in Jos. After experimenting with groups and bands, he teamed up with his brother M.I; together they started Inner Hub Studios and by 2006, Jesse started a solo career with a debut-hit
“Africa” that remained a chart-topper on several radio stations in Lagos.

He went on to drop other singles like “Nobody Test Me”, “Bend Down Low”, “Sugar Cane Baby”, and “The
Greatest”, which also proved to be huge success between the year 2006 and 2007. In 2010, Jesse Jagz released his debut album “Jag of All Tradez” under the Chocolate City label. The album did pretty well in Nigeria and Africa, then he became the arrow-head of the record label.

After those exploits, Jagz was notably absent from the music scene in 2011 and 2012. During his absence, the likes of Ice Prince and Brymo became more prominent and turned out several hits. In 2013, Jesse parted ways with Chocolate City and then staged a dramatic return to the music scene with a reggae infused style, spotting a dreadlock like that of a ‘rastaman’.

As an independent artiste, Jagz released the singles “Murder Dem” and “Redemption” in 2013. The singles were released under his new imprint, Jagz Nation, in June 2013, Jesse Jagz released his second album “Jagz Nation Vol 1.” However, the most surprising thing about Jesse Jagz of now, is his new found personality – his new clique, new hairstyle, which in no way portrays hip-hop and his new style of music which is conspicuously tilting off the conventional hip-hop; having a hip-hop-reggae flavour.

Undoubtedly, Jagz is one of the few intellectually-gifted and diversely talented lyricists Nigeria has got at the moment. Little wonder why many now describe him as Nigeria’s Kanye West because of his flirtatious experimentation with different genres of music, from R&B to roots reggae to pop all built on a predominantly hip hop foundation.

Controversially, pundits have detected a decline in the quality of M.I’s lyrics of recent, compared to when he first started. Therefore, they’ve pointed Jesse Jagz as the brain behind those flawless punch lines and that Jagz’s absence has created a large vacuum noticeable, to many. Is Jesse Jagz’ exit of Chocolate City actually responsible for the perceived decline in the quality of M.I’s lyrics as pundits suggest? Only time will tell.

Source: http://www.joyakosacorner.com/analysing-the-aftermath-of-jesse-jagzs-chocolate-city-exit/

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