WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT NIGERIAN MUSIC THOUGH?

Music has always been an outlet for entertainment and even provides comfort for people in distress. The Nigerian music has become so dynamic that it is known worldwide. Music has always existed in Africa far back and even before the coming of the white man. Before the coming of the white man, cultural music such as palm wine music, folklore and even the Igbo high life existed till around the 1920’s. Also, juju music dominated the pre-colonial West African states for many years. The shift of the Nigerian music industry from traditional or indigenous to western genres such as hip hop and pop started with the invasion of the white man and therefore the invasion of his music and his way of doing things. Since colonization prohibited Nigerians from practicing their religion, the indigenes therefore reduced the practice of their traditions and even music festivals. However, this African musical history is currently being preserved by indigenous media platform like ogelle.com. Ogelle is an Africa media platform for African content lovers; showcasing African traditional music, movies and a host of other creative content. The rest of this article explores the evolution of Nigerian music.

According to Lazo (2011), due to the English rule within Nigeria, most of the native religions were prohibited leaving missionaries room to work. This all caused Christianity to become the dominant religion next to Islam the fact that natives couldn’t practice their religion also caused them not to be loud with their music. At this time, many Nigerians had to learn the European hymn, as well as study their musicians. They later learnt how to play European music as well as use their instruments. So after the English oppression in the early twentieth century, Nigerians would finally be able to mix their traditional music with what they have learned from the Europeans. Also, according to (Heritage:2007) One of the very first instruments to have caused a fusion of the Nigerian music with Western civilization was as a result of its contact with the guitar of which many other instruments were added later. This was in the 1920’s through Sailors and Kru-men from Sierra Leone who played the guitar as an instrument of pleasure.

The music industry has so much evolved that it has now adopted a professional approach and even changed through the complexities and trends affected by the immediate society. Artistes like Fela Anikulapo Kuti were able to not only permeate the music industry and cause radical change but also make a mark for himself by singing about the ills and political recklessness that occurred through his time. In this present dispensation, artistes like Falz are also using music to shed light and bring attention to the ills and challenges that the modern man face. According to (Labinjoh:1985) Fela was moved by the larger evolution of social consciousness that pervaded the black world in the 1960’s. At the time he chose to be part of the politics of revolution which was consequent upon the fundamental change. He had to devise his type of revolutionary struggle suitable to his environment as well as his existentiality condition. With all this being said, it is also important to note that artistes who were also able to sing about love and other matters of the heart also gained a fair amount of recognition.  For more about African music, visit; www.ogelle.com.