Exploring The Influence of Language and Environment In Creating Art

In 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown, a new artist named Omah Lay released his debut EP and quickly became a household name around the country. It was an unprecedented growth, especially when you consider that he did not have the opportunity to go through traditional routes – like parties and shows – to promote his songs because everyone was stuck at home. After seeing his name a significant number of times on my Twitter feed, I decided to give him a listen, and I was hooked quickly, for two reasons: Firstly, the reviews were true: the music was really good. His versatility shone on the tracks as he switched from heartbroken loverboy to Casanova in minutes, changing tempo and production style as he went along. Secondly, the music was fun because it was made by a Port Harcourt boy, just like myself. Listening to him mention places and slangs I was familiar with felt cool. Typically, I began to think about the importance of environments in the music-making process, ad art on a larger scale. Just how much of an influence does an artist’s geographical background have on their work? How much of it is inspired by the things they have witnessed in different cities? How has language pushed them to invent and innovate? As a writer myself, I recall how confusing it was for me when I tried to write like foreign authors because white literature was my first introduction to fiction. After reading Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus, I realized that lived experiences were crucial to stories. The discontentment I had been feeling was because I was adopting a voice that was not mine and recreating places that I shared no connection with me. It is also important to remember that the environment is not limited to our physical surroundings. A political environment is a major influence on art, and words and slang are a part of this ecosystem. Writing is a word-heavy art form, and Nigerian English is still different despite the universal nature of the English language. Mirriam-Webster tells us that the word “severally” means separately or individually, not part of a group, but the same word means “many times” or “repeatedly” in a Nigerian context. The interconnectedness of all these elements – environments, slang, etc. – results in the artist’s final work. To solidify this theory, I conducted a series of interviews with a bunch of artists in different disciplines to find out how much inspiration they draw from their environments, physical locations, and otherwise and the impact of language on their work...

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