4th November, 2024
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Former Chocolate City singer and Nigerian ace rapper, Jesse Garba Abaga popularly known as Jesse Jagz has urged Nigerians to reconsider their approach to religion.
Jagz claimed that the African traditional religious gods are drunk because of the alcohol priests fed them during rituals.
According to him, this is why they are obese, diabetic, and helpless to their worshipers.
Featuring on the ‘Big Talk’ podcast, the rapper also said it is wrong for followers of foreign religions to just pray and expect miracles without work.
He emphasised that prayers do not provide basic social amenities.
“When you go to a shrine and you see the priest pouring gin on the gods, Google how much a bottle of gin was in slavery. 40 slaves.
“Our gods are drunk on alcohol and meat. They are obese and diabetic.
“They can’t help us do anything. Prayers do not build roads or buy books for children. We have forgotten humanity,” he said.
Born on 10 August 1984, Jesse Jagz grew up in Jos and is a member of Taraba State’s Jukun ethnic group. He joined his church’s choir at the age of seven and later learned to play the drums on his parents’ drum kit. He recorded an unreleased album with the short-lived music group Gospel Insanity in 2003.
He signed a record deal with Chocolate City in 2010 and released his debut studio album Jag of All Tradez that same year. He voluntarily exited the Chocolate City deal in 2013 and announced the launch of his independent label, Jagz Nation.
Jagz released his second studio album Jagz Nation, Vol. 1: Thy Nation Come in 2013; it included singles such as “Redemption”, “Bad Girl”, “Sex & Scotch” and “God on the Mic”. His third studio album, Jagz Nation, Vol. 2: Royal Niger Company, was released in 2014.
He returned to Chocolate City in 2015 but left the label again prior to releasing his fourth studio album Odysseus in 2017. In May 2020, he released a 5-track EP titled Garba.
