A Contextual Analysis of Selected Songs of Bukola Elemide (aka Àsá)
Keywords:
Context, contextual issues, Nigerian Hip-hop music, Àsá, African musicologyAbstract
Nigerian Hip-hop Music (henceforth, NHM) is a veritable platform for projecting inherent ideals of Nigerianness. Bukola Elemide, Asa, has distinguished herself as an illustrious Nigerian Hip-hop artiste. Existing linguistic and non-linguistic studies have described the language and classification of NHM. However, the role of context in constructing meaning in NHM has remained outstanding. The nexus between language and socio-cultural identity, which can reveal the multifarious discourse possibilities in Àsá’s songs, has not been investigated. It is against this backdrop that this study investigates the role of context in her songs with a view to describing how language functions in constructing contextually motivated issues in her songs. This study is anchored on Halliday’s notion of context, considering its unequivocal engagement with the politics of language and representation. Thirty-nine songs, laden with robust engagement of Nigerian contextual issues, were purposively selected from two albums: Asa and Beautiful imperfection. Àsá situates her songs within the Nigerian socio-cultural, economic and political contexts. Through the deployment of rhetorical devices, image-evoking metaphors, repetition, and symbolism, she projects the place of motherhood, gender equity, unity in the face diversity, class difference and social unrest. These contextual issues depict her as a vibrant socio-economic, political and cultural revivalist. Apart from her articulation of Nigeria/African socio-economic challenges, her songs are garnished with pleasant lyrics and danceable beats. This paper recommends a multidisciplinary engagement of NHM so as to provoke further research into the discursive practices in NHM and African musicology.
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