EXPOSED: Why Jesse Jagz Left Choc City: Theft of Label Funds, Conflict with Label Bosses, ETC

We are only just beginning to hear the alleged real deal on the internal brouhaha at Chocolate City (CC). As insiders, even when we hear things, the goal is to pretend we don’t know and let the media find out, share it and then of course on AML we then discuss the legal issues. TheNetng.com takes a swipe at what we know is the beginning of the brouhaha in the CC camp. The report is loaded with insider spill from the CC camp alleging a bad marijuana i.e. weed head habit, theft with Jesse Jagz not giving CC funds owed to CC, conflicts with label bosses and a sterile music career. I often say, many times, you don’t need the details, at least from my view, to see the legal drama from afar. You can look at people, look at what they they are saying, look at what they are doing and spot the legal issues before they even happen. The way Jesse Jagz quit Chocolate City, I already knew there had to be some allegations of drug use. The way Jagz continues to keep himself in a very unkempt way in the public eye, to me, is reflective of inner drama both on a personal and professional level. There is more and I believe this is only the beginning. I don’t believe Jagz is one of those who just walks away from it all. I believe he is very angry at everyone at CC and he is a very emotional and volatile character, many creative people are. It is only a matter of time until things really fall apart. I think CC should talk to their fans and at least acknowledge their concerns . . .

Read an excerpt from the NETng.com story:

“Jesse Jagz on Wednesday, March 30, 2012 via his personal Facebook account shocked fans worldwide when he categorically stated that he was taking a ‘voluntary exit from his label Chocolate City’.
His statement:
‘I, Jesse Garba Abaga (also known as ‘Jesse Jagz’) an artist formerly signed to Chocolate City Music label hereby wishes to notify my fans and the general public about my voluntary exit from the label.
After my initial two year contractual agreement with Chocolate City, I do not wish to renew my contract with them and as such have proceeded to continue my music career with my new team at Jesse Jagz Nation.
I still maintain a cordial relationship with the management of
Chocolate City and my former label mates and I wish them the best in all their future endeavours.
Any further information will be passed across through my publicist but until then, have a good day. Look out for my sophomore album JagZNation Vol. 1 coming out in July 2013′.
This comes as a sudden shock to everyone including some staff and executives at Chocolate City but those in the know will tell you this was long expected.
Close sources to Jesse Jagz and Chocolate City tell us there had been an ungoing war between the ‘Wetin dey’ singer and the popular label.
Jagz, one source told NET, ‘was fed up with the way the label was handling his career and decided to frustrate them in return.’
Jagz last release was his debut album in May 2010, after then he sort of went into comatose, save for his production of Ice Prince and BrymO’s albums in 2011 and 2012 and a few minor releases, we might not have noticed his presence.
‘Chocolate City have a one-year/one-artiste project run’, a staff at Chocolate City tells NET.
(2008-2009 was M.I, then ’09-’10 was Jesse, ’10-’11 was M.I again, ’11-’12 was Ice Prince, ’12-’13 was for Brymo, this year’s run ’13-’14 was meant to be for Jesse Jagz).
‘But Chocolate City signed three new acts – Pryse, Nosa and Victoria Kimani and started concentrating on the last two when they noticed Jesse had started giving them trouble’, our source adds.
‘Jesse would refuse to go to the label’s studio at Lekki Phase 1, he and the other choc boys M.I and Ice Prince had built separate studios in their Palmgroove, Lagos residence. Jesse just kept making music, a lot of music, over 100 songs’.
Then there were allegedly two strong claims the label made against ‘Jargo’; the first that he owed a lot of money.
‘Choc City said Jargo owed them money, there were several cases where he would travel to the North for a gig and wouldn’t bring back anything to the label. At times, he would claim they paid him just to appear and that didn’t hold under his contractual agreement’.
The second was his alleged substance abuse. There are very strong claims that Jesse Jagz, a truly talented rapper and producer, is addicted to Marijuana.
‘Everybody smokes ‘igbo’ but Jesse’s own was too much! He would be reeking of Igbo smell when he came up to the studio to hang out. Don’t you see his Instagram photos, don’t you read his revolutionary tweets? He thinks he’s Fela or Bob Marley for Christ’s sake!‘
Sources say Sola Oladebo, Jesse’s manager for the last three years, is tired of the whole situation.
‘Sola is tired, fed up but can’t leave him now, he has invested too much time in Jargo. At a time, there was nothing to do as Jesse career was dormant, so when Choc City fired Ice Prince’s former manager in 2012, they made Sola the interim manager’.
We are told till the night of his shocking announcement, elder brother M.I and the other Choc Boys were unaware of his self-imposed exit. M.I had just released his comeback single for his next album ‘The Chairman’ when Jesse dropped the bombshell.
‘M.I was as shocked as everyone else. He’s not happy Jesse didn’t tell him of the situation first. He has erased all thoughts of leaving Choc City now as a sign to show loyalty’, a friend to M.I says.
An insider told us over the weekend, that the last straw that broke the camel’s back was when Audu Maikori, top exec at the label summoned him via E-mail, he simply replied with two words ‘F**k You’. . .”