Nigerian rapper Ice Prince has publicly credited hip-hop veteran MI Abaga for shaping his career and teaching him how to rap, describing the iconic lyricist as his mentor and “big brother.”

Speaking on a recent episode of Curiosity Made Me Ask hosted by content creator Isbaeu, Ice Prince highlighted the critical role MI played in his development. “I can rap on any beat, with anybody, any rapper and I will stand out. I’m not going to have a wack verse on a song,” he stated. “I’m not saying other rappers cannot rap or do their thing but it can’t be said that I’m wack. I was brought up by the best, shout out to MI Abaga.”

Reflecting on years of working closely with MI, Ice Prince said, “I rapped with MI for years. That’s my big brother, he taught me how to do this and he taught me well.”

Ice Prince rose to stardom in 2011 with the breakout single Oleku from his debut album, later releasing chart-toppers like Superstar, cementing his status as one of Nigeria’s top rappers.

In December 2024, Ice Prince also opened up about the financial challenges he faced while growing up, particularly how a lack of funds cut short his academic journey. In an interview on Listen with Osi, he said, “I was the guy who would spend at least 3 weeks out of every school term at home because of school fees. I didn’t go to university because of 20,000 which is like one spliff now. That’s the reason I didn’t go, because of 20,000. I had two weeks to pay that money for a registration and I couldn’t come up with it and that’s how I lost the admission and I became a studio rat from there.”