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
