In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

7 Nigerian Hip Hop ExploringaBlackWorldHybrid STEPHANIE SHONEKAN Throughout the twentieth century, there was a dynamic two-way crossing of cultural influences between Africa and her diasporic people. Economist Roger Wallis and musicologist Krister Malm (1987: 118), in their study of popular music, conclude that many small countries that have become marginal markets for international products are also sources of new raw material. The spread of hip hop has generated exciting tentacles of hybridity that have encroached on, but not always subverted, existing traditions, art forms, and cultural mores. The case of Nigerian hip hop presents one of the many dynamic cases of cultural hybridity to emerge at the end of the twentieth century and continues to evolve in the new millennium . Indeed, the people of Nigeria have embraced and imbibed African American popular music for decades and in the process have created new cultural and artistic products. By the early 1990s, the most popular music produced by young Nigerian artists was reggae and ragga. Local artists like Ras Kimono, Blackky, and Daniel Wilson became popular among the youth. Their music enjoyed radio and television airtime , and both Kimono and Blackky appeared on television shows and at public events. By 1995, African American rap had made its way to Nigeria, and Nigerian rappers tested their skills with this new genre. Junior and Pretty first emerged on the Lagos scene with their trademark humorous lyrics embedded in pidgin English, which ensured mass consumption. Baba Fryo also surfaced with funny and socially conscious lyrics. After a reasonably enthusiastic reception, mostly in the urban centers, other artists began to venture into the arena of rap. Artists like Daddy Showkey, probably recognizing the enduring power of reggae, mixed reggae with rap. As African American rap music spawned more commercial and formulaic styles that were broadcast on MTV and BET via satellite and cable, emerging rappers in Nigeria tried, not always successfully, to adopt the formula. An exception was the Trybesmen, whose hit “Shake Body” was popular around 1998 because it mixed local and imported references. In the new millennium, a fresh 148 idEntity and hybridity generation of rappers represents a spectrum of styles and focus. This includes the award-winning 2Face and Blackface (formerly of the group Plantashun Boiz), the popular Eedris Abdul-Kareem, the London-based Unsung Heroes, and one of the only women on the Nigerian rap scene, Weird MC. From its inception, styles of Nigerian hip hop music ranged in scale from the more Americanized sounds of the Trybesmen to the more localized music of Junior and Pretty. However, the character of Nigerian hip hop always presents itself as an ofspring of two distinct musical and cultural influences—African American hip hop and Nigerian afrobeat. The concept of hybridity, which has a relationship to reproductive biology (Young 1995), provides a useful metaphor for examining the relationships and interactions between the parents and the ofspring or new raw material that is Nigerian hip hop. Nigerians have little access to what is considered underground socially conscious hip hop from the United States. Underground artists based in the United States, like Immortal Technique and Dead Prez, are not promoted internationally. This subgenre, by its politically confrontational and therefore noncommercial nature , is unpopular among the gatekeepers of pop culture. The underground hip hop world in the United States refuses to remain within the misogynistic and apolitical boundaries set by popular media and the popular music industry. As such, this music, heavy with political and social justice messages, has no chance of joining the comparatively placid music that gets imported. So, while the images and overall form of Nigerian hip hop are appropriated from African American hip hop, the social and political tones, as well as the devices used to convey these ideas, must come from the familiar and powerful legacy of Nigerian popular music— afrobeat and, to a lesser degree, highlife. This chapter examines the way in which these musical antecedents have influenced the evolution of Nigerian hip hop in the last decade of the twentieth century and made it a viable, distinct cultural product that amplifies both local and foreign stylistic elements. It is based on research and analysis of Nigerian rap music utilizing radio shows and questionnaires and interviews of artists, listeners, and disc jockeys.1 Interviewees and respondents to my questionnaire, ranging in age from 16 to 40, revealed that they listen to more African American R&B and hip hop than anything else. However, they also appreciate Nigerian hip hop, which features a wide range...

Share