In 2017, M.I. Abaga first announced WAHA festival. He announced the festival will hold in March 2018. But it did not happen. And there was no word from neither M.I. nor his representatives as to why it did not hold.
Maybe the Chocolate City boss announced the festival just as damage control to reactions from hip-hop enthusiasts’ question: ‘What have you done?’ after the rapper released the industry unsettling “You Rappers Should Fix Up Your Lives”.
Yesterday, 25th of July, 2018, the rapper announced that the festival would hold again. This time, it is scheduled to hold in October 2018, in Lagos.
M.I. Abaga announced the new date in a statement he wrote on his notepad and distributed via his Twitter page: @MI_Abaga. The statement did not include a specific date, however.
The rapper and label executive explained that the festival was organised in reaction to queries about his & his contemporaries’ contribution to the development of hip-hop culture in Nigeria.
“In 2017, I asked young rappers to fix up and received overwhelming response that my generation hadn’t done enough,” The Chairman wrote in the statement.
“I ask my government to be better, but I have to look inwards and ask myself if I have done enough to build structure and give opportunities to those within my sphere of influence.”
Following that post was another digital banner bearing the WAHA Festival emblem and also calling for artists who would participate in the festival.
WAHA Festival is expected to be a strictly hip-hop event with participation from rappers who know their own game: both young artists and the veterans alike.
“This festival is strictly hip-hop!” M.I. confirmed in the statement released yesterday.
“All rappers, writers, break dancers, poets, producers and DJs; this is our time.”
While there are no specific dates yet, M.I. Abaga said the festival will hold in Lagos. With the calls for artists now in circulation, it appears the festival would now hold for sure.
