Jagz Nation, Vol.1. Thy Nation Come

Background, recording and digital release

Jagz Nation, Vol.1. Thy Nation Come is the first project released by Jesse Jagz since his departure from Chocolate City in 2012. Jesse Jagz recorded over 200 songs for the album. He worked with producers Konnect, Shady Bizniz, Samklef and Guilty Beats. He also reached out to Wizkid, 9ice, Lindsey Abudei and James Maverik for features. Jesse Jagz didn't feature M.I nor Ice Prince on the album because he wanted to be the only rapper on the LP. In an interview posted on MADC, Jagz elaborated on the album. He said: "It’s just going to be music. With the album I just tried to push the boundary. You know what I mean? Writing, production, arrangement, engineering…I set out to just make good music. Forget about being Nigerian, forget about being in Lagos and just make some good music. I guess that’s just all. The hype and build up and everything else is just as a result of the music." Jagz said he expects to receive mixed reviews when he drops the album. Jagz also added that being gifted in recording and producing added to the album's depth.

Promotion

To promote his second studio album, Jagz held the "Jagz Experience Hip-Hop Concert" at the New African Shrine on August 24, 2013. He told The Punch that he decided to host his album launch concert at the Shrine for historical reasons, as well as to accommodate some of his financially unstable fans.

Singles and other releases

On May 29, 2013, Jesse Jagz released the album's lead single "Redemption". Upon its release, the song was met with positive reviews. OkayAfrica wrote that "the song is anchored on an addictive clink-clank beat and swerving synth melody, which Jesse Jagz expertly rides and molds into a hip-hop-meets-dancehall gem." The audio and visuals for "Redemption" were released simultaneously. "Bad Girl" was released on July 10, 2013 as the second single from the album. Wizkid is featured on the song's chorus. The music video for the song was uploaded onto YouTube on December 7, 2013, and ran for 4 minutes and 26 seconds. A writer for 360nobs commented on the audio and video of "Bad Girl", stating: "It’s a classic ragga jam to whine and groove to anywhere. Jesse also sports a new look in this video – braided hair."

On August 7, 2013, Jagz Nation released a single titled "3rd World War" featuring Grammy nominated Nigerian musician Femi Kuti. The song was initially intended to be included on the album's deluxe edition. However, the deluxe edition of the album was never released. Instead, the song is the first single off the Heaven's Hell soundtrack. On January 19, 2014, Jagz Nation released the music video for the album's third single "Sex & Scotch", which was directed by Mex Film Production. On January 23, 2014, Jesse Jagz released an animated video for the album's fourth single "God on the Mic", which was directed by J.O King.

Critical reception

Upon its release, the album was met with generally positive reviews. A writer for 360nobs rated the album 8.5 stars out of 10, adding: "Kudos to Jesse Jagz and everyone else who put in work on this album, especially Bolaji Williams aka Phazehop for recording this entire album, co-producing and also mixing/mastering this piece." Tayo Ayomide of Nigerian Entertainment Today gave the album 4.3 out of 5 stars, stating: "Jesse Ibn Abaga has found the spark that deserted him on his debut. It’s too early to speak about a classic but it is never too early to speak about greatness and this album is great. It is bold, refreshing, challenging, illuminating and genius." Ogaga Sakpaide of TooXclusive followed with 4 out of 5 stars, adding: "Jesse Jagz has magnificently grown and evolved and shows this as he takes the music into a deeper realm compared to his debut offering ‘Jag of All Tradez’. Although it might be too soon to tag the LP using the word ‘classic’, we can confidently use it’s synonym ‘tour de force’ and crown Jesse Jagz the hottest mainstream MC in Nigeria at the moment." Wilfred Okiche of YNaija added: "Ingenious, exciting and thrilling, ‘Jagz nation’ is a tour de force that suffers occasionally from misbegotten ideas of over-reaching. On ”Thy nation come’, Jesse Jagz isn’t quite God on the mic, but he makes a pretty good impression." Ronke Adepoju, a writer for TayoTV, gave the album an 8.5 out of 10, concluding: "When it comes to production; the album is almost at perfection, Jagz's production went from level 2 to like double digits. No doubt he's got some party tunes but i don't think majority of Nigerians would pick up this album to listen over and over because it's totally the NOT "typical album" it's the "Why are you living" album."

Accolades

Jagz Nation, Vol.1. Thy Nation Come was nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. The album was also nominated for Best Rap Album at The Headies 2014.

Track listing

From JesseJagz.