THE INFLUENCE OF
FOREIGN MUSIC ON LIFESTYLE OF NIGERIA YOUTHS (A CASE STUDY OF WARRI, DELTA)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The
advent of foreign music like the hiphop, Reggae, Rock & Roll, R & B,
rap, jazz etc in Nigeria has been a welcome phenomenon, while some people
believe it has created a massive and unappealing change in the life of the
youths, insisting it’s slowly but surely wiping out the Nigerian culture
coupled with the perception that the whole world is emulating America in a lot
of ways, and Nigeria is no exception (Leadership Newspaper, 2014).
It
is a known fact that in the 21st century, young Nigerians frequently cite Jay-Z
and other foreign artist as their favorite artist. American musics has provided
a blueprint for the rest of the world to appropriate and build new cultural
formations that manifest in music and identity. Yet, the subtitle of Jay-Z’s
Blueprint 2 album, “The Gift and The Curse” is an apt description for the
complexity of the relationship between African American culture and Nigerian
youth identity, which also impacts Nigerian popular music (Adeolu, 2011).
The
foreign music culture has affected the way many young people and even the
elderly see themselves in Nigeria. Many female contemporary musicians want to
be like Beyonce, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Nicky Minaj, etc. They put on skimpy
clothes that expose all their natural endowments, ignoring the kind of society
they belong. They move around in shorts that could pass as underwear for men. Their
male counterparts put on clothes that don’t correspond with the weather just
because they want to appear cool. Still, to some extent, the personal style of
Nigerian music artistes is quite distinct. For example, Phyno, who is known for
weaving the Igbo dialect into his music, has endeared fans all over the world
with his funky hairstyle and skinny pants. On the other hand, Olamide, from the
yoruba cultural setting, usually has a mix of western and local outlook in his
dressing and this goes a long way to
influence the lifestyle of their fans.
Many
Nigerian artistes, as mentioned earlier, strive to be like foreign
entertainers, at the expense of their own cultural values and modes of
expression. When they put down lyrics, they are usually replete with words and
expressions quite alien to the conservative society they belong. While
technology has enhanced acceptability of otherwise strange phenomenon, many
Nigerians frown at the continued denudation of our culture.
Warri
is a city in Delta State, Nigeria. It is an oil hub in Southern Nigeria and
houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. It served as the colonial
capital of the then Warri Province. It shares boundaries with Ughelli/Agbarho,
Sapele, Okpe, Udu and Uvwie although most of these places, notably Udu, Okpe
and Uvwie, have been integrated to the larger cosmopolitan Warri. Osubi houses
an airport that serves the city. Effurun serves as the gateway to and the
economic nerve of the city. Towns in the Warri metropolis include: Ogbe-Ijo,
Aladja, Ekurede Itsekiri, Jakpa, Ubeji, Ugbuwangue, Ifie-Kporo, Egbokodo
Itsekiri, Ajamimogha, Pessu, Koko, Ugbolokoso, Ugborodo, Ajagbodudu, Iyara,
Ode-Itsekiri (Big Warri), Osubi, Effurun, Enerhen, Ugborikoko, Agbarho, Deco,
Okuokoko, Ebrumede, DSC Township, Ugbomro, Edjeba, Ekurede-Urhobo, Okere,
Agbassa, Ogidigben, Gbaramatu, among others.
The
city of Warri has a unique history that has not been documented well enough by
historians. The name Warri province was once applicable to the part of an area
now called Delta State under the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria.
Its boundary in the Northeast was Sapele/Udu creek near Ughelli and Aboh, with
Forçados River in the Southeast and Jameson Creek in the Southwest which later
changed to Delta Province. Warri city is one of the major hubs of petroleum
activities and businesses in the southern Nigeria. It is a commercial capital
city of Delta State, with a population of over 311,970 people according to the
national population census figures for 2006. The city is one of cosmopolitan
cities in southern Nigeria comprising originally of Urhobo, Itsekiri and Ijaw
people. Warri is predominantly Christian with mixture of African traditional
religions like most of the Southern Nigeria. The city is known nationwide for
its unique Pidgin English (Wikipedia, 2015).
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In
Nigeria today, the youths have become a brain washed set of youths who think
more of other peoples culture of such music aired on various satellite
media that are produced overseas. About 97 percent of such foreign music have
violent and romantic traits. Many Nigerian youth get their phones and other
personal digital assistants (PDAs) like MP3, Ipad loaded with thousands of
foreign music which might contain thousand of death and heartbreaks, heard
harsh and brutal languages “fuck you”, a son of bitch, nigger men and kiss my
ass etc. It is also believe to have influence dressing and has contributed to behavioral
changes in youths in general. However, the researcher is examining the
influence of foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigeria youth with special;
focus on Warri, Delta State.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The
following are the objectives of this study:
1. To
examine the influence of foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigeria youth.
2. To
examine the morality of the foreign music content.
3. To
determine the level of acceptance of foreign music by Nigerian youths.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What
is the influence of foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigeria youth?
2. What
is the level of morality of the foreign music content?
3. What
is the level of acceptance of foreign music by Nigerian youths?
1.5 HYPOTHESIS
HO:
Foreign music does not influence the lifestyle of Nigerian youths.
HA:
Foreign music does influence the lifestyle of Nigerian youths.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The
following are the significance of this study:
1. The
outcome of this study will educate the Nigerian general public on the influence
of the foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigerian youths.
2. This research will also serve as a
resource base to other scholars and researchers interested in carrying out
further research in this field subsequently, if applied will go to an extent to
provide new explanation to the topic.
1.7 SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This
study on the influence of foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigeria youth will
cover the content of popular foreign music in Nigeria with a view of
identifying the lifestyle changes it causes on the youths.
LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the
efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature
or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire
and interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will
simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently
will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
REFERENCES
Adeolu,
A.J. (2011): Effect of Hiphop on the attitude of Teenagers. Journal
of Social Research, 5(4)
Leadership
Newspaper, 28th August, 2014
Wikipedia
(2015): www.wikipedia.com