NEGOTIATING GLOBALIZATION THROUGH HYBRIDIZATION: HIP HOP AND THE CREATION OF CROSS-OVER CULTURE IN NIGERIAN POPULAR MUSIC

Abstract

The process of globalization has been of a tremendous impact on African societies while the status-quo of expressive cultures have obviously not remained the same due to this factor with popular music gradually becoming homogenized to fit into the Euro-American stereotypes. It is quite evident that the Nigerian popular music has been greatly influenced by the dictates and progression in the international scene due to global communication and cultural flows as exemplified by the popularity and proliferation of hip hop culture among the youths from the 1990s. Also a critical look at language use in music reveals that ‗English is the language of popular music, arguably a form of linguistic globalization‘ (Shuker 2005:127) while the glorification and promotion of foreign music styles especially hip hop and its cultural expressions is almost making the local music practices less fashionable. This paper explores the Nigerian popular music practice through the current mainstream hip hop and identifies how its practitioners have successfully formulated a sub-genre dubbed ‗Afro hip hop‘ through hybridization whereby African identity is portrayed and maintained by asserting linguistic independence with the use of Nigerian languages as medium of delivery through code-switching. This is also followed by appropriating indigenous popular music style like fújì to create a fusion that appeals to home-grown sensibilities while still subscribing to the global hip hop community. This paper reveals the effectiveness of ‗Afro hip hop‘ as hybrid music and how it was used as a strategy of resistance towards popular music homogenization brought about by globalization.