Recorded in 5 days, The Live Report is an elegant 6-track project, perfectly fitting the two rappers’ universes.
The bromance between A-Q and M.I. Abaga goes back to 2016, when the former proposed to the latter to collaborate on the track “G Boys (feeling like)”. The rappers then invited each other on their two previous projects, A-Q’s album Rose and M.I.’s EP Judah. A collaborative project between these two veterans of Nigerian rap seems very relevant: indeed, they are both known and respected for their lyrical and committed rap, far from trap or “afro hip-hop” currently trending in West Africa. Both artists are also leaders of English Nigerian rap, a subgenre in this country where the Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo languages dominate. Finally, they are both real veterans in this highly competitive industry. M.I Abaga’s career took off in 2008 with his track “Safe”. Today, he is a 6 studio albums-artist, has released countless mixtapes and won more than 15 awards. Similarly, A-Q released its first project Listen & Overstand in 2005 and met with real success in 2016 with Rose, a rich album featuring Yemi Alade and many other artists. The rapper has released 4 studio albums and many other projects until now.
The Live Report remains true to the brand of both artists. The different tracks deal with universal and intimate themes such as recent events (“The Live Report”), the relationship to death (“When I’m Gone”) or religion and its interpretations (“Jesus Said Use Your Head”). Musically, the instrumentals are those of a classy and noble rap, sometimes reminiscent of the sounds of certain New York classics. Produced by beatmaker Jayy and mastered by M.I Abaga himself, the project is available on Incredible Music, a label recently created by the rapper-entrepreneur.