ABSTRACT
Most Nigerian hip hop artistes use a combination of English and one or more local language(s) in writing the lyrics of their songs. Over the years, this has become a common trait in the hip hop world. English is the official language in Nigeria, therefore, the base language of most Nigerian hip hop songs is English even as they introduce local expressions into the lyrics. This process can be described as code-switching in songs. It is also to be noted that pidgin is also a local language in this context.
This work examines the nature of code switching found in these songs and the possible reasons behind them. It also focuses on how the artistes code-switch.
If we look at Nigerian hip hop songs, we will notice that code-switching here involves English and one (or more) of the three major languages in Nigeria, which are Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo. However, the constant use of Yoruba by the artistes cannot go unnoticed. Thus, Yoruba appears to be the most frequently used among the Nigerian languages and indeed, the titles of some songs attest to this.
Pidgin in most Nigerian hip hop songs is also common. In Nigeria, pidgin cuts across the country making it easy for all Nigerians from different tribes and background to communicate with each other. Hence, most artistes use pidgin as well in their song lyrics.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
DECLARATION……………………………………………………………………………………………………. i
DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………………………………… iii
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………………………………… v
CHAPTER ONE……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
CHAPTER TWO………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12
LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………………………………………… 12
CHAPTER THREE………………………………………………………………………………………………. 20
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY………………………………….. 20
- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK……………………………………………………………………….. 20
3.4.2 9ice………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 26
CHAPTER FOUR………………………………………………………………………………………………… 28
DATA ANALYSIS……………………………………………………………………………………………… 28
CHAPTER FIVE…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 50
CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 50
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 52
APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 54
- INTRODUCTION
Hip hop music in Nigeria is a very popular brand of music which is heard practically in all parts of Nigeria and is both respected and appreciated by Nigerians, young and old. Nigerian hip hop artistes demonstrate a high level of creativity and inventiveness in the way they blend Nigerian languages with English. It is easily noticeable that one can hardly listen to any Nigerian hip hop song without noticing the artistes‟ creative use of one or more Nigerian language(s) or its pidgin variety.
Although most Nigerian hip hop artists write their songs in English, it is crystal clear that a lot of innovations and skill have been introduced into their music. Therefore, despite the fact that these artists write their lyrics in English, they still make it a point never to forget their root by putting their creativity into use in combining English with their indigenous languages while writing their song lyrics.
Omoniyi 2009 (in Akande 2013) observes that Nigerian hip hop artistes facilitate negotiation and construction of identity through language choice. Apart from singing in English, these set of Nigerian artistes uses Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE) and indigenous languages in their lyrics in order to set up what might be construed as a pan-Nigerian identity that is an ideological departure from the kind of establishment identity we may associate with Nigeria‟s „English-as-official-language‟ policy.
This phenomenon in English has been described in sociolinguistics as code switching. Although this socio-linguistic concept has been widely studied, its investigation has largely been restricted to interactive, usually informal speech situations. Although music
can be regarded as a form of speech performance, it is a genre clearly different from any informal conversational exchanges.
Nigerian hip hop artists use their songs to communicate with their listeners. They use them to tell stories, explain life occurrences or even to relate their personal experiences using alternate language, thereby alternating between English and Nigerian local languages or NPE. Their choice of a local language may only be understood by those within the artist‟s cultural background. Listeners who are not from the same cultural background as the artiste tend to enjoy the mixture of languages in the songs all the same. Code-switching in these songs does not only make the songs easily understandable to those who speak the languages involved, but also makes it more appealing as it relates to the cultural base of listeners and put them into an identifiable network.
This work will examine the trend of code switching Nigeria‟s indigenous languages with English, with our focus on Nigerian hip hop music.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It is now a well-known fact that many Nigerian hip hop artistes have made it a point to always make use of one or more Nigerian language(s) while composing their lyrics. Therefore, we can always associate skilful combinations of different languages with Nigerian hip hop. Listening to most of these Nigerian hip hop songs, one will hardly find a single song that is completely written in English without the slightest use of any Nigerian language or the use of Nigerian pidgin.
A lot of research has already been done on code-switching but only a few have been carried out on the use of code-switching in music, let alone in hip hop songs by the Nigerian artistes. It is interesting to notice the Nigerian hip hop artistes‟ creative use of
code-switching in their songs, therefore, it is important for us to find out why the artistes code-switch as well as check out the strategies they employ to carry this out effectively.
PURPOSE OF STUDY
This research intends to show us the relationship between the Nigerian hip hop artistes‟ use of code switching and society by breaking down and investigating the lyrics of the chosen artistes‟ works. It is also aimed at:
- Enlightening us on how Nigerian hip hop artistes code switch in their songs
- Examining the nature of the code-switching being used
- Examining the possible reasons for code switching
- Looking at its effects on Nigerian music industry
There are different artistes with different styles but their preferred styles and strategies of code switching could still be identified in the results they all aim at achieving and indeed achieve. Every artiste writes his or her own songs and presents it in a particular way that will reflect the artiste‟s personal style and „trade mark‟ as Nigerians would call it. They do this for listeners to be able to identify their songs anywhere even by just listening to the beginning or a few lines of their songs. For instance, whenever a Nigerian hears a Nigerian hip hop song with a lot of Yoruba adage or proverb in it, there is every possibility that even before the listener confirms the artiste‟s voice or name, he might associate the song with 9ice, a Nigerian hip hop artiste.
Although, each artiste tries to be different in his or her own way, there is still an area where all of them connect, which is in their language use. Almost all the hip hop artistes in Nigeria do code-switch, which is the focus of this work.
HIP HOP CULTURE
According to some sources from the internet like the free online encyclopedia, Hip hop emerged during the 1970s when block parties became popular in New York City, particularly among African American youths residing in The Bronx, a county in New York City. Hip hop is the combination of two separate slang terms – „hip‟, used in the African- American English as early as 1898 to mean current and „hop‟, for the hopping movement. The origin of the hip hop culture can be traced to the block parties of the Ghetto Brothers in the 1970s when they would plug the amplifiers of their instruments and speakers into the lamp posts on their street. Hip hop culture is commonly recognised by its four main elements which are Graffiti, DJ-ing, MC-ing and Break dancing.
The first practitioner of this kind of music is Kool Herc (referred to as father of hip hop) and disc jockeys creating rhythmic beats by looping (repeating small portions of the song to create a pattern) breaks on two turntables, more commonly referred to as juggling. Herc would mix samples of existing records with his own shouts to the crowd and dancers. Herc also developed break-beat DJ-ing where the breaks of funk songs- the part most suited to dance, usually percussion based- were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties. This style of music, using hard funk formed the basis of hip hop music. It was later accompanied by rap, a rhythmic style of chanting or poetry, hence, hip hop is sometimes used to refer to rap music.
DJ Kool Herc‟s party changed venues from his house to outdoors to be better able to accommodate more people. These outdoor parties became a means of expression and an outlet for teenagers to expend their pent-up energy instead of getting into trouble on the streets.
Kevin Donovan; also known as African Bambaata, was also instrumental in the early development of hip hop. He was a gang warlord, but after a trip to Africa, he led his gang away from crime to musical innovation in his organisation called Universal Zulu Nation Movement. He transformed New York gangs into crews who would battle with words rather than guns.
Keith Wiggins known as „Cowboy‟, a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, an influential American hip hop group formed in the south Bronx of New York City in 1978 has been credited with coining the term hip hop while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army, by scat singing the words „hip/hop, hip/hop, in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers. Cowboy later worked the cadence into his stage performance. The group frequently performed with disco artistes who would refer to this new type of musicians by calling them „hip-hoppers‟. The name was originally meant as a sign of disrespect but soon came to be identified as a new culture and music (source- internet).
Since its evolution throughout the south Bronx, hip hop culture has spread to both urban and suburban communities throughout the world. Hip hop can now be said to be a global phenomenon although its sound and style differs from region to region. Hip hop still continues to develop globally in a flourishing myriad of diverse styles. Hip hop is now a phenomenon that connects young people around the world, which also gives people the opportunity to infuse their own national flavour into it (Krims 2000 in Akande 2013).
Hip hop music generally has enjoyed popularity and patronage that transcends the acceptance of most other music genres (Laidi 2012). Within the global consumption of hip hop culture, various forms of hip hop exists in different countries and local forms and content are often fused with globalised elements.
HIP HOP IN NIGERIA
There are several brands of hip hop around the world and Nigerian hip hop (NHH from now on) is certainly one of these brands (Akande 2013). A decade barely passed after the birth of hip hop in the blocks of south Bronx in New York before Nigerian artistes „caught the flow‟. Hip hop in Nigeria is a genre of music that has come to thrive over the years. Nigerian hip hop also known as „Gbedu‟ dates back to the late 80s and 90s when it was known as Afro hip hop.
