Nigerian Hip Hop and the Yoruba Influence: “Rugeddy Baba” and the Negotiation of National Identity
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Date
2017
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Scholars Middle East Publishers
Abstract
Identity is an integral part of human existence and as a cognitive phenomenon it is regarded as a basis for selfrealisation
and actualisation. Popular culture is an important conduit through which identity can be formulated and
expressed. Music on the other hand as an expressive art is a major appendage of popular culture and a fertile ground for
identity negotiation and formulation, in this instance through language use. This paper investigates the music- Hip hop,
the language- Yoruba and examines how the artiste- Ruggedman employs the use of the mother-tongue while exploiting
the general acceptability of the Yoruba language to popularise hip hop music in Nigeria .The research argues that,
through the artiste‟s Yoruba linguistic affiliation he is able to formulate a national identity with a language not his own in
a country where there is an overt subscription to ethnic loyalty rather that national.
Description
Staff Publication
Keywords
Hip hop,, popular music and identity,, Nigeria,, Yoruba language,, Code-switching., Ruggedman