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Nigerian rap veteran Jude ‘MI’ Abaga has revisited a memorable but humbling moment from his early days, recalling how he was ushered off the 2008 Headies red carpet so Nollywood star Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde could be photographed.
Speaking during an interview on Vbyz TV Cartel, the 44-year-old explained that before fame found him, he had been putting in the work with very little recognition. Despite being nominated for Best Rap Single that year, he said he arrived at the venue to find that event handlers barely acknowledged him.
According to him, he and his manager attempted to walk the red carpet, but they were repeatedly moved aside to clear the way for Omotola and her security team. MI recalled telling himself that he had been “grinding and no one cares about who I am,” noting that everything changed in a matter of hours. He said, “In February 2008, I was announced as the winner for ‘Best Rap Single’ and literally my life changed that day.”
He recounted how the red-carpet crew didn’t recognise his status as a nominee. “The people on the red carpet did not even know I was nominated, so they were just like ‘common get out of here’,” he said. He added that Omotola’s movements for photographs forced them to shift repeatedly: “They kept chasing us from place to place.”
MI described the night as surreal — being pushed aside at one moment and holding a major award shortly after. “I was just looking at stardom and two hours later, I had an award in my hand, a gold plaque from Ayo Animashaun,” he said. That moment, he noted, marked the beginning of a new phase. After the win, “everybody was like ‘MI is in the game’,” leading to the era of hit releases such as “Safe,” “Talk About It,” and “Incredible Music.”
The experience, he added, became a defining turning point that propelled him into becoming one of the country’s most influential hip-hop figures.
Watch him speak below…
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