THE INFLUENCE OF FOREIGN MUSIC ON LIFESTYLE OF NIGERIA YOUTHS (A CASE STUDY OF WARRI, DELTA)

CHAPTER ONE 

INTRODUCTION 

1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 

The advent of foreign music like the hiphop, Reggae, Rock & Roll, R & B, rap, jazz etc 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 musics has 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. Warri is a city in Delta State, Nigeria. It is an oil hub in Southern Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. It served as the colonial capital of the then Warri Province. It shares boundaries with Ughelli/Agbarho, Sapele, Okpe, Udu and Uvwie although most of these places, notably Udu, Okpe and Uvwie, have been integrated to the larger cosmopolitan Warri. Osubi houses an airport that serves the city. Effurun serves as the gateway to and the economic nerve of the city. Towns in the Warri metropolis include: Ogbe-Ijo, Aladja, Ekurede Itsekiri, Jakpa, Ubeji, Ugbuwangue, Ifie-Kporo, Egbokodo Itsekiri, Ajamimogha, Pessu, Koko, Ugbolokoso, Ugborodo, Ajagbodudu, Iyara, Ode-Itsekiri (Big Warri), Osubi, Effurun, Enerhen, Ugborikoko, Agbarho, Deco, Okuokoko, Ebrumede, DSC Township, Ugbomro, Edjeba, Ekurede-Urhobo, Okere, Agbassa, Ogidigben, Gbaramatu, among others. The city of Warri has a unique history that has not been documented well enough by historians. The name Warri province was once applicable to the part of an area now called Delta State under the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. Its boundary in the Northeast was Sapele/Udu creek near Ughelli and Aboh, with Forçados River in the Southeast and Jameson Creek in the Southwest which later changed to Delta Province. Warri city is one of the major hubs of petroleum activities and businesses in the southern Nigeria. It is a commercial capital city of Delta State, with a population of over 311,970 people according to the national population census figures for 2006. The city is one of cosmopolitan cities in southern Nigeria comprising originally of Urhobo, Itsekiri and Ijaw people. Warri is predominantly Christian with mixture of African traditional religions like most of the Southern Nigeria. The city is known nationwide for its unique Pidgin English (Wikipedia, 2015). 

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 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 Nigeria youth with special; focus on Warri, Delta State. 

1.3   OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 

The following are the objectives of this study: 1.  To examine the influence of foreign music on the lifestyle of Nigeria youth. 2.  To examine the morality of the foreign music content. 3.  To determine the level of acceptance of foreign music by Nigerian youths.