Business
‘How M.I Abaga almost destroyed my Music career + His many lies against me’ – Rapper, Milli cries out
It’s no more news that Chocolate city rapper, Milli has parted ways with the label over some unsettled disputes between him and the label’s management. Last week when the news broke out, M.I, Who is the current Chairman of the Label, accused the rapper of being too proud to be controlled.
However, contrary to this report, the Victim, Milli has decried M.I’s accusations levied against him and also revealed the main reasons behind his exit from the label.
READ BELOW
Part One
It’s no longer news that the time has come for me to move on from Chocolate City, but until now, no one has heard my side of the story.
It’s been a long journey – one year in 2014 with M.I. writing and co-producing theChairman album, and another year in 2015 being signed with Loopy and Choc City, writing and co-producing the TICBN album, and working on individual Choc City artist projects.
I have a lot of love for my CC family, especially for Koker and Dice, but for me, things didn’t turn out how I thought they would at all… I was getting held back all the time, I wasn’t allowed to put out music like I wanted to, and it was getting really hard to be myself…
I’m not going to say much out there, about what really happened, that’s why I created this private Facebook group. I don’t want to do interviews and talk about what happened, I wouldn’t even want to write all of it down because it’s quite painful.
But I haven’t told anyone what’s been happening, and you guys have been showing me love all this time, even in my absence, so it’s only fair that you know more than everyone else… What I want to share with you will come in five parts and this is Part 1.
I really love you guys and feel so blessed.
Part Two:
I started working on the Childish EP in 2014, and all the tracks on the EP were ready by the end of 2014, but when I got signed to Loopy in January 2015, M.I asked me to go back and re-record the entire EP.
When Mr Audu left in February 2015 and handed over to M.I, I automatically became a Choc City artist. I was told dropping my EP under CC was going to be great for me so I was really excited. But there was a lot going on at that time, so attention shifted from my EP and I was told I couldn’t drop it for the next few months after the handover because I had to wait for the label to reorganise itself. In March, I figured out a way to drop music though, that’s how I started #FreeMusicFridays. But after three Fridays, they pulled the plug on it and said I couldn’t continue putting out free music…
When the handover was completed, we were asked to start putting together the TICBN album in order to promote the Choc City brand, so again I was told to be patient, and I was… I came up with the idea to drop the Childish EP on Children’s Day (May 27th, which is also my birthday), but no one at the label paid attention and M.I didn’t want me to drop it at the end of May because the TICBN Album would still being promoted around that time, so I had to be patient again. Once the TICBN album that I was also working on was recorded and dropped, I still wasn’t allowed to drop the Childish EP, but instead I was asked to pay attention to the TICBN album and promote it, which I did…
\The TICBN album
Around August, after the TICBN promo, it was time for individual artists to drop projects they had been working on before the TICBN album, so I was excited and thought I could finally put out Childish. But then a new rule was invented: New music could only be dropped if it came with a music video… Sigh. More patience.
The music video for Unlooking was shot in September last year but turned out a disaster, a lot of things that were supposed to happen didn’t and it just didn’t look right. I wasn’t proud of it, and you wouldn’t have liked it at all, but I couldn’t afford to shoot another one, and I couldn’t drop Childish unless I dropped a video, so I was willing to live with it. I just wanted to drop my EP… But when M.I saw the footage, he said I couldn’t drop the video yet, because we had to shoot additional scenes. The next shoot was set for January 2016 (four months after the first shoot!), which meant Childish wouldn’t drop till then. One year of waiting, and more patience…
Part Three
In November last year, I realised the year was almost over and I hadn’t put out any single yet. It bothered me, because people were waiting, and with all my frustrations I had to ask that the rule be waived in my case for Unlooking because my video was already shot, but not yet ready. Luckily it was approved but M.I wasn’t fully behind my decision, so I wasn’t very confident. But I knew I had to drop something with or without his support…
I know some of y’all have been asking about the Wizkid feature and if it that was even true. Well, it did exist, and still exists. I did have a song with Wiz, which was also supposed to have M.I on it, but unfortunately he took it from me. M.I gave me a choice – if I wanted to put out Unlooking, I would have to give up the Wizkid feature.
I guess nobody in their right mind would give up a feature with Wiz, but I did believe in Unlooking, and everybody around me wanted me to release it. Also, I didn’t want my first release to be a feature, and I knew I could always find him again, so I gave up the Wizkid track and prepared the release of Unlooking.
I created Unlooking in a really unique way. When I first wrote it, the verses were different, not Pidgin, but M.I asked me to rewrite the song, and had me change it from English into Pidgin, to be more ‘street‘… so I did, even though I never enjoyed remaking the song. But I wanted to make him happy so I would get all the support I needed by the time Unlooking was coming out. Unfortunately, after so much time rewriting it, when I finally dropped the song, he didn’t support me and Unlooking wasn’t pushed.
He didn’t put much effort into promoting it, I could tell, and after Unlooking, all these new dab songs started coming out and the move that I had started was jacked from me… I saw M.I supporting Olamide’s dab and it really hurt me.
I thought M.I was ashamed of me. He was telling people that Unlooking was just 60% of what it could have been, and that the only reason people liked it was because it was in Pidgin. There was no budget for promotion, so I had to hustle by myself, but I am just one person and I can’t win if my own people don’t believe in me…
And all this while, M.I told me to be more like this or that artist, be more ‘street’, and people told me that he kept saying that my music wasn’t gonna fly in Naij… It’s like they had decided my sound wasn’t going to work before they even gave it a chance. It made me really, really sad…
Part Four
In December last year, I met some cool and serious people that not only believe in me and my music, but they also want to see me shine. My new team wanted to work with Choc City but Choc City didn’t want that. All this while, all CC artists were told to build their own teams. And here I was, with a dope team that wanted nothing from the label but the opportunity to invest in me, and work on my promo and branding together with the label, and CC said no.
They said ‘Either all us or nothing’. So what choice did I have? Sit and wait some more, or work with people who actually believe in me? I didn’t want to leave the label, but they didn’t really leave me a choice… So as much as it pained me to leave my fam behind, we started the release process in January…
Right after the meeting with M.I, my new team and I travelled abroad for four weeks to shoot two music videos. The change of environment was good for me as I was really down at the time, I felt abandoned because after all the hard work I had put into the various CC projects and the Chairman album, the label was ready to just give up on me like that…
Then things started picking up and I did more work with my new team in one month than with Choc City in an entire year, and I’m grateful. They get me and my music. They wanna make me succeed the way I am, not change my sound. They see the big picture, and way beyond Nigeria.
Not everyone is happy about my departure from CC though, and even for me, it wasn’t easy to make that decision… In ‘Everything’ M.I. really went deep, calling me disloyal for leaving the family and so on. People in the label office stopped talking to me. It became difficult for me to work with Reinhard, my producer that I introduced to M.I. at the time we produced Chairman. They talked to radio OAPs and other media people and told them their side of the story, making me look bad and as if I don’t care about anyone.
And then it took almost five months to release me from the label, so I was stuck. Choc City was delaying me and crushed my vibe… My new team said I shouldn’t be on social media until things are settled with Choc City, so that they don’t change their mind about releasing me or delay us some more when they see how well things are going for me. That’s why I went quiet at some point. I didn’t even know what to say or post anyway, I was just really, really sad…
Part Five
Being signed to Choc City was a big opportunity in my life that I will forever be grateful for. I’ve learned a lot, the good and the bad. But to keep following my dream, I needed to let go, even if it hurts and it still does…
But I’ve got my own label now, Up Next, a dope team, and I’ve got you guys, and that’s all I need. But I can’t lie, it’s gonna be tough. I already know that he and his people have been talking to the media, and I don’t know how that will affect what the blogs will write, and how much radio and TV airplay I will get for my music… Maybe they will shut me out, he has people everywhere, so its possible for him to do things his way… Some of the social media influencers even told me they don’t want to promote my new projects, for fear of upsetting M.I or Choc City…
It’s scary and I don’t know what will happen but I’m ready for the challenge, and as long as you guys have my back and help me post, RT, Regram and spread the word about the#UpNextMovement and my new music to your people, we don’t even need all the fake hype!
Much more happened than what I’ve told you, a lot of personal things that really disappointed and hurt me deeply, coming from a person I admire and respect so much. I won’t speak about details because I don’t want this to be about any of those personal things. That’s between him and me. #DontAskMeWhatHappened.
But I will never forget how I was put down again and again, how my confidence in my sound was broken, and how it was impossible for me to put out my music. I even stopped believing in myself at some point… Your messages all this while really helped me a lot and gave me new motivation. I felt your love and I’m grateful for that.
What I’m going to drop this week is daring, but it’s my way of overcoming my fear, stand up for the Art I believe in and move on. I hope I can count on you to have my back and get others to join the #UpNextMovement. The Movement is about the art of good music, and about giving other artists that make ‘different’ sound the courage and strength to BE different, instead of getting frustrated by the industry.
I’m sure many people will say I’m ungrateful and I want to cause drama but what I really want to do is to leave the old structures behind that suppressed my art and my sound, follow my dream and #SetArtFree! That’s my mission with the #UpNextMovement.
We need to allow Art to exist in Nigeria and I’m not shutting up no more. And if that upsets some people, so be it.
Bless you all and thanks for being with me.
Milli
NNPCL and Corruption’s Final Throes
By Pius Olasanmi
In the twilight of the Obasanjo administration, when Nigerians were still capable of being outraged, when Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of refineries was a buzzword that still held some mysticism to bamboozle citizens, during a conversation, a certain man said something profound. The man said, “As a businessman, if I were the owner of these refineries, knowing that they are three decades old, I would take the last money I have, hire bulldozers, raze them to the ground, and obtain loans to build new ones.”
When we pressed him further on why he would engage in such waste, he explained that repairing the refineries is the real waste. He explained that even if the TAM were honestly carried out, a thirty-year-old refinery would never compete favourably with a new one that would integrate contemporary technology. Operating at its best, such a refinery would never be comparatively more efficient. It is therefore pointless to have spent another one naira on the refineries at that point.
A few months later, I had a conversation with a then-lawmaker on an entirely different matter. I mentioned that the National Assembly has failed by not crafting legislation that would criminalise and punish public office holders who foist wrong decisions on the country. The logic: a public office holder need not steal to be punished, wrong decisions should attract penalties for an office holder who opts for the worst of all options when there are less injurious ones.
These established premises speak to the ongoing nauseating efforts at revisionism by those who wrecked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its previous iteration, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Notably, this campaign to rewrite history is traceable to Engineer Mele Kolo Kyari, the disgraced immediate past Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL and his hirelings. They have suffocated the news and the public opinion space with even more lies than they spun while in office.
The Saint Kyari campaign is anchored on convincing Nigerians that the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries were fully functional when he was booted out of office. So brazen is the campaign that one of its talking heads challenged the group chief executive officer (GCEO), Engr. Bayo Ojulari, to “inform Nigerians categorically what happened to the functioning refineries he inherited from his predecessor, Engr. Mele Kyari.” The effrontery.
We have not forgotten so soon the charade that followed the baffling claim that Nigeria has spent $2.8 billion on the repair of the refineries, while they are not churning out even a single litre of refined product among them. Saint Kyari and his goons played all manner of tricks, all of which embarrassed President Bola Tinubu, who had counted on ticking off the return to productivity of the refineries as part of his achievements, only to realise that he was deceived into celebrating phantoms. Tragic.
Lest we forget, 200 trucks were arranged as props in a well-directed video clip to celebrate the re-streaming of the Port Harcourt Refinery. The disappointment. Nigerians were to learn from several reports that the Port Harcourt refinery was not producing and was instead using old, stored petroleum products to load trucks. Worse still, the Kyari crew was passing off sanction-tainted Russian-sourced crude oil refined in Malta as locally refined products. More insult was piled on the assault on our collective sensibility with the lies that the Port Harcourt Refinery exported semi-finished products. Brazen.
Meanwhile, Kyari and his hirelings called those who pointed out or protested these glaring scams all manner of names. They hid behind industry technicalities and jargon to create the impression that those of us who knew Nigerians were being robbed did not understand what we were saying. The point remains that a $2.8 billion investment can potentially build a refinery with a capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd). Of course, the actual capacity of such a refinery will depend on various factors, including the complexity of the refinery, the technology used, and the location. That is the amount that Kyari’s regime at the NNPCL took and did not give Nigerians refined products.
Fast forward to Kyari’s sack and the appointment of Engineer Bayo Ojulari, who has demonstrated that things can indeed be done differently. Kyari’s exit was expectedly followed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) going after him and his associates. The extent of the theft is better understood against the backdrop of N80 billion being found in the bank account of one of his associates. They went on the run.
Perhaps because the EFCC was biding its time on securing international warrants for the arrests of these characters on the lam, they have become emboldened. They have decided to fight back and rewrite the story of their participation in the greatest fraud against Nigerians. Engineer Ojulari’s renewed mindset, which is entrenching a semblance of the transparency Nigerians demand, became their natural target. The demons that once roamed around the corporation came out with malevolence. They started spinning stories of corruption to tarnish the incumbent who refused to hide their crimes. The objective: bring Ojulari down. But alas, he is winning the war as it stands.
His innocence is proven, and it is glaring that those who want him out are mere charlatans who can no longer ply their corrupt wares because of the impact of the new reforms. Corruption in the NNPCL is in its final throes. The fake news being unleashed against the incumbent leadership is akin to corruption’s last kicks as reforms in the sector strangulate it and its practitioners. The reforms must take place in the NNPCL, whether the industry demons like it or not.
As a parting shot, Kyari and his associates would do well to prepare their defence. In addition to accounting for the $2.8 billion they laundered in the name of repairing the moribund refineries, they must also answer for the poor decision to fix that which is irretrievably broken. Awarding contracts for Turn Around Maintenance of 59-year-old refineries that a right-thinking person had suggested should be demolished almost twenty years ago, when they were only 30 years old, is criminal. Trying to deceive Nigerians that the fake repairs worked is treason.
Olasanmi is a public affairs analyst writing from Lagos.
GRANDIS 5STAR LUXURY APARTMENT & SUITES SET TO REDEFINE LIVING IN VICTORIA ISLAND
Set to Rise elegantly against the Lagos skyline, is the Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites. According to Adejuwon Ademola, The General Manager of the Development company, it is more than just a residential building
“it’s a lifestyle statement. Standing 17 floors high in the heart of Victoria Island, this revolutionary masterpiece of modern architecture will offer a panoramic 360° view of Eko Atlantic, Victoria Island, and Ikoyi, transforming every apartment into an exclusive penthouse experience for the world’s most discerning elite.”
Developed by Dumarco Construction Limited, a globally acclaimed company with decades of delivering complex, high-value projects in the highly regulated petroleum, oil, and gas industries, Grandis 5Star brings unmatched international safety standards, uncompromising quality, and timeless elegance into Nigeria’s luxury property market.
> “When you live in Grandis, you’re not just buying a home—you’re investing in peace of mind, world-class safety, and an effortless luxury experience that will remain pristine for decades,” says Adejuwon A. Ademola, General Manager of Dumarco Construction Limited.
The Gold Standard in Safety and Quality
Dumarco’s roots in the oil and gas sector mean the company operates to some of the strictest safety protocols in the world. Every stage—from conceptualization, design, construction, to long-term maintenance—follows internationally accepted procedures and quality assurance measures. Cutting corners is simply not in Dumarco’s vocabulary.
> “In the oil and gas industry, there’s no room for compromise. We’ve brought that same discipline and zero-tolerance for mediocrity into property development,” says Ademola. “That’s why Grandis will be one of the safest and most enduring residential developments in Nigeria.”
To ensure transparency and prevent (project complacency), Dumarco deliberately separates the developer, contractor, and consultant roles, engaging only the most competent professionals in each respective field. Dumarco’s project team includes globally recognized contractors such as Julius Berger, Cappa & D’Alberto, and Elalan, Migliore Construczione & Tecniche (MC&T) and their partners VENCO IMTIAZ CONTRACTING COMPANY (VICC) based in Dubai, UAE, Business Contracting Limited, alongside leading consultants like Morgan Omanitan & Abe, LAMBERT, and James Cubitt.
Grandis – Investments, appreciation, returns and profitability
Our selection process for the location of the project alone was pains-taking and completely thorough scientific process. Top professional companies were employed to conduct a scientific data acquisition and analytical survey of the entire Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki and Eko Atlantic before a project site is selected. Analyzing and acquiring areas developmental charts and trends, studying and gathering historical and present sale prices, rental charge and occupancy rates over a 50 year period from every individual street before the selection of the location of any of our developments especially true for the Grandis Project
He adds,
“Our clients and residents can be rest assured that the location of Grandis has been scientifically proven through all existing data to provide our clients with a 100% occupancy rate, highest developmental location, highest rental income and investment returns. ”
The Grandis Experience
Located minutes away from international corporate headquarters, embassies, and landmarks such as Eko Hotel, Radisson Blu, and the Radisson Red, Grandis offers unmatched convenience for professionals, diplomats, and high-net-worth individuals. Every residence is designed for both indulgence and efficiency, with high-grade finishes, smart-home systems, and private amenities that ensure seamless living.
From sunrise over the Atlantic to the glittering Lagos night skyline, residents will enjoy uninterrupted luxury, supported by discreet and highly trained staff, advanced security systems, and a design that prioritizes comfort and privacy.
> “We designed Grandis for people who want everything—security, elegance, convenience, and the assurance that their home will look as spectacular in 20 years as it does on day one,” Ademola notes.
A Legacy That Lasts
With its combination of visionary architecture, peerless safety, and meticulous maintenance planning, Grandis is built to remain iconic for generations. Thanks to Dumarco’s meticulous approach, the building’s service charges are expected to remain low while its value and appeal continue to appreciate over time.
In a market often marred by shortcuts and substandard practices, Mr Ademola says
Grandis stands as a beacon of what luxury living should be—safe, spectacular, and built to last.
“Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites — Where safety meets sophistication, and every detail is designed for a life well-lived.”
He added
Website -www.dumarcoltd.com
Project website – www.26idowutaylor.com
Email [email protected]
Tel / WhatsApp +234 9077777883
GM – Adejuwon A. Ademola
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