MI Abaga And Journalist Joey Akan Battle It Out On Twitter Over Nigerian Hip Hop

Rapper, MI Abaga and entertainment journalist, Joey Akan are battling it out on Twitter over the rap and hip hop genre in Nigeria.

In the early hours of Thursday, May 19, popular MI Abaga took a swipe at Akan on Twitter while responding to his tweet about American rapper Da Baby visiting Nigeria to shoot a video with Davido.

Joey Akan on Twitter: “Why is Dababy not having one-on-one with local Nigerian rappers? No meet-and-greet? No hailings? “wE nEeD tHE CUltuRe to resPect Nigerian wrappers.”You rappers should go and drag Davido na. Since entitlement is usually your first name. 😂😂😂 / Twitter”
Why is Dababy not having one-on-one with local Nigerian rappers? No meet-and-greet? No hailings? “wE nEeD tHE CUltuRe to resPect Nigerian wrappers.”You rappers should go and drag Davido na. Since entitlement is usually your first name. 😂😂😂

Joey Akan on Twitter: “Fans of the rap genre in Nigeria will dance to pop, download pop, play pop to their friends, celebrate with pop, have myriad conversations about pop artists, and buy tickets to pack out pop shows. But when you ask them what music they love on Twitter, they’ll scream “rap!” / Twitter”
Fans of the rap genre in Nigeria will dance to pop, download pop, play pop to their friends, celebrate with pop, have myriad conversations about pop artists, and buy tickets to pack out pop shows. But when you ask them what music they love on Twitter, they’ll scream “rap!”

MI Abaga accused the journalist of disesteeming rappers. Akan responded saying the rapper’s music was what earned him respect in the past, and that he didn’t need to demand respect.

That kicked off another round of replies as MI tweeted, saying the journalist was an enemy of Nigerian hip hop.

But Akan wasn’t having it, and served his own rebuttal, charging MI Abaga of spilling dirty secrets about artists to tarnish their image and paying to get their songs off radios. He also added that he’d been turning down rendezvous request from the rapper, and that’s why he apparently hates him.

Joey Akan on Twitter: “Jude, once upon a time, you didn’t have to demand respect from anybody. Your artistic impact automatically gave you that.Ask why you are demanding it now.Tell your people the truth, MI Abaga. Stop crying over Rick Ross on Twitter. You dishonour us, rap and your legacy. ❤️ https://t.co/2ydGhiG6A7 / Twitter”
Jude, once upon a time, you didn’t have to demand respect from anybody. Your artistic impact automatically gave you that.Ask why you are demanding it now.Tell your people the truth, MI Abaga. Stop crying over Rick Ross on Twitter. You dishonour us, rap and your legacy. ❤️ https://t.co/2ydGhiG6A7

Joey Akan on Twitter: “King of Nigerian hip hop has excommunicated me. You’re not that guy, Jude. You no longer have that influence you used for evil in the past.The industry doesn’t rate you. Your past sins speak against you. You’re still stuck in the 2011, that’s why you’re crying for Rick Ross. https://t.co/yHE1BMRpNu / Twitter”
King of Nigerian hip hop has excommunicated me. You’re not that guy, Jude. You no longer have that influence you used for evil in the past.The industry doesn’t rate you. Your past sins speak against you. You’re still stuck in the 2011, that’s why you’re crying for Rick Ross. https://t.co/yHE1BMRpNu

Joey Akan on Twitter: “I’ve stood you up 3 times M.I, when you wanted to use me to attack an artist, you ruined their career. I refused, and you’ve hated me for it. Leaking dirt on your artists to further damage their career.You know why I never attended those meetings? Because you’re evil. https://t.co/VfdngBNjMs / Twitter”
I’ve stood you up 3 times M.I, when you wanted to use me to attack an artist, you ruined their career. I refused, and you’ve hated me for it. Leaking dirt on your artists to further damage their career.You know why I never attended those meetings? Because you’re evil. https://t.co/VfdngBNjMs

The rap and hip hop genre in Nigeria has been hot topic recently, with MI often in the thick of things. The first episode kicked off with when American rapper Rick Ross performed in Lagos and Abuja without any rappers on the roaster.

Several rappers including YCee and MI deplored the situation and blamed it on organizers and show promoters.

Although the genre has been on a steady decline since the mid 2010s, MI has mainly remained true to his craft, refusing to change his style like most artists who started out as rappers. He currently has an album in the works.