CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of The Study
The advent of foreign music like the hip-hop, Reggae, Rock & Roll, R & B, rap, jazz and so forth 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 music’s have 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.
Owing to the research topic, the influence of foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigerian youth, it is sad to observe the erosion of our traditional Nigerian music’s, it is very doubtful if it will not bring massive and unappealing change in the life of the youths. Consequently, since no empirical study seems to have established this fact, this research work will fill a gap in knowledge as it seeks to find out the influence of foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigerian youth with special focus on Akwa Ibom State University students. Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
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’s 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 Nigerian youth with special focus on Akwa Ibom State University students.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The general objective of this study is to find out the influence of foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigerian youth.
The specific objectives are:
To examine the influence of foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigeria youth.
To examine the morality of the foreign music content.
To determine the level of acceptance of foreign music by Nigerian youths.
1.4 Research Questions
What is the influence of foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigeria youth?
What is the level of morality of the foreign music content?
What is the level of acceptance of foreign music by Nigerian youths?
1.5 Significance of the Study
Any academic research carried out must aim at achieving certain goal which will be of significance to the society. Based on this, the findings of this research will provide us with the information on the influence of foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigerian youth among Akwa Ibom State University students. This will be of a great importance to the Nigerian general public as it will educate them on the influence of the foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigerian youths. 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.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The scope of this study would be limited to influence of the foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigerian youths of Akwa Ibom State University, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A replica of the same topic could be tested with broader scope.
