Jagz Nation Vol. 2: Royal Niger Company

Jesse Jagz started creating the album by recording a mixture of ideas for two months. After the two-month period, his team sifted through the music and selected the album's final track listing. He chose the album's title to sensitize people about their history and said he made the album for his core fans. He describes the album as two steps above Jagz Nation, Vol.1. Thy Nation Come and said he wanted to stay away from reggae influential sounds because of sentimental reasons. He hopes people find healing from the album and wants people who are hurting to find comfort in it.[4] On March 17, 2014, the album's cover art was released to the general public. Inspired by René Magritte, it is symbolic of a man standing with a fruit and apple blocking his face. The concept behind Magritte's work revolves around revealing one thing and hiding another. The cover art features a model holding different things that symbolize the culture of Nigeria.[4]

Jagz Nation Vol. 2: Royal Niger Company was initially meant to be a mixtape and was initially titled The Transfiguration of Jesse Jagz.[1][5][6] On March 28, 2014, Jesse Jagz made the album available for digital streaming on SoundCloud.[3] On August 2, 2014, he held the second edition of the Jesse Jagz Experience concert at the AGIP Recital Hall; he called it "The Greatest Concert" and performed alongside a 16-man hip-hop orchestra band.[7]

Jagz Nation Vol. 2: Royal Niger Company is an all-out rap album that doesn't favor any mainstream commercial appeal.[8] On the Joe Louis-inspired album's opener "Louis", Jesse Jagz raps about one finding their inner strength; the song is a mixture of rap and Rastafarian styles. In "Jargo (Ain't Nobody)", he samples Rufus & Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody" and raps about the dynamics of a complex relationship. "Sunshine" contains a popular riff from Fela Kuti and incorporates "Loopy Bars", a J-Town style of rap. In "The Search (Radio)", he blends hip hop and jazz sounds together. "Supply and Demand" is a throwback song with a New York pounding flow that is reminiscent of 1995 and the East Coast circa. In "Sunrise (Shine On)", he samples a dialogue from the 1983 crime drama film Scarface. In "How We Do", a song with a menacing beat, Jesse Jagz samples spoken words from Tupac.[9][10]

The album's lead single "The Search (Radio)" was released on May 15, 2015. It features rap verses from Jumar and Dugod. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by J.O King.[11] In March 2015, Jesse Jagz released the Terver Trump-directed visuals for "Sunshine".[12]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Nigerian Entertainment Today	[9]
Lobatan	[13]

Jagz Nation Vol. 2: Royal Niger Company received positive reviews from music critics. Ayomide Tayo of Nigerian Entertainment Today awarded the album 4 stars out of 5, saying it was made for rap fans to "chill and relax to" and acknowledged it for not seeking the approval of radio or Alaba.[9] Wilfred Okiche said the album stands out for its cohesiveness and opined that it "deserves to be saved in a time capsule, to be brought up years later when someone tries to suggest great records weren’t made in 2014".[8] Okiche also called it "ambitious, daring, cerebral and painfully beautiful".[8] Brandon Bridges of Lobatan gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying it "plays by no rules and subjects to no compromise" while also noting its themes are not "a newly applied road of thought".[13] Dennis Peter of Filter Free Nigeria praised the album's production and Jesse Jagz's rhymes and metaphors. Peters also considers the album to be Jesse Jagz's best album yet.[14]

Samples

• "Louis" samples a rant from Howard Beale, a fictional character from the movie Network
• "Jargo (Ain't Nobody)" samples "Ain't Nobody", performed by Rufus and Chaka Khan; it also samples excerpts from the film Johnny Mad Dog (2008)
• "Sunshine" samples spoken words by Fela Kuti
• "How We Do" samples spoken words by Tupac Shakur
• "Sunrise (Shine On)" samples a dialogue from the film Scarface (1983)

• Jagz Nation Vol. 2: Royal Niger Company at SoundCloud