Nigerian Music

Nigerian music has developed from the 1960s to the present day, with religious aspects integrated into it. Fela Kuti and Afrobeat were influential in Nigerian music. High Life Music, originating from Ghana, was popular in the 1960s. Juju Music also emerged during this time. Gospel music is popular, with Sinatsch and Nathaniel Bassey being dominant singers. Islamic music features artists like Aminat Adjo and Queen Salawa. Nigerian music has various genres and dances, influenced by different tribes. In the modern day, Nigerian music is dominated by genres like Hip-Hop, Reggae, and R&B, with Afrobeats becoming popular worldwide. Artists like Burna Boy, Davido, and Wizkid have gained international recognition. Nigerian music has grown in popularity and is making an impact globally. Hi, my name is Akin Audio, and today I'll be speaking on the development of Nigerian music from the 1960s to the modern day. I'll also be exploring how Nigerian music has also had its religious aspects integrated into it over a series of time. I chose to speak on this topic because of my Nigerian background and interest in its music. We spoke in class about how Nigerian music has been impacted by a few people in genres. I'll be expanding on those things today in this podcast, even providing a first-hand account from a Nigerian race citizen. I've chosen to speak on Nigerian music starting in the 1960s because of the fact that their independence was gained in this decade. While I'm not trying to ignore Nigeria's history before its 1960s, I believe this is appropriate as we really only covered this period and beyond in class. Now, it would be impossible to discuss the history of popular Nigerian music without discussing Fela Kuti and Afrobeat. Now, I'm assuming an audience is pretty informed on what that is and its impact in politics. Fela Kuti was truly a great inspiration for up-and-coming Nigerian artists. Afrobeat was not only popular in Nigeria, but in other African countries as well and the Western world. Here's a listening example from Fela Kuti. What you just heard was Fela Kuti live in 1984 playing a song, Beast of No Nation. Now, we'll circle back to Afrobeat and its influence in future Nigerian music, but I'm going to pivot over now to the genre of High Life Music. Now, High Life Music we really didn't discuss in class, so I'm going to provide a bit more information on that. High Life Music was pretty dominant in the 1960s. The genre originated from Ghanaian performers and was really played in party-like environments like clubs. It is quite a jazzy sound genre with some guitars being integrated into it. Some popular High Life singers include E.T. Mensah and Bobby Benson. Here's an example of how it kind of sounds. You can really hear the jazzy elements in the music that we just listened to. Now, the last genre I'm going to speak about is Juju Music. Now, Juju Music is from the 1960s, as the other genres were from. Again, this may seem familiar in our discussions in class, so I won't dwell on it too much. I just wanted to remind you about its unique aspects and especially the talking trunk within the genre. I will remind you of its sound with a listening example from one of our most popular Juju artists, who is Sunny Yaday. Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Yaday, Sunny Gospel music is really popular in the way that religion is really integrated into the music of popular music, including Sinatsch and Nathaniel Bassey being the two dominant singers in the industry. Islamic music features artists like Aminat Adjo and Queen Salawa. Here's a bit of a listening example from Sinatsch, and this is her song, I Know Who I Am. We are the chosen generation, who have been called for to show His excellence. All I require for life, God has given me, for I know who I am. I know who God says I am, what He says I am, where He says I'm at. I know who I am, I know who God says I am, what He says I am. Now all that I've said so far comes from a second hand account. I'd like you all to welcome my mom who's going to give a first hand account about the types of Nigerian music that she grew up listening to. We love music, we love dancing. In Yoruba land, we have different types of music and the dance that goes with it. We have what we call the traditional music, that also has the traditional dancing. We have what we call Apala, which is more of the older people songs. It comes with story, it comes with a lot of narrative, and the dance that goes with that is a slow movement dance. When they sing Apala, they are telling you words of wisdom. So when you are older in that society, Yoruba society, you listen more to Apala. The other one that we have is what we call Fuji. Fuji is more like what the younger ones listen to. It has fast rhythms, it has fast beats, and the dance that goes with that is mostly very, very fast. We have another one that we call Waka. Waka is more for mostly women that sing Waka. Actually, men sing the Fuji, the women singers are called the ones that sing the Waka. So the Waka is like Fuji, but it's being sung by female singers. So instead of calling it Fuji, they call it Waka. Just like Fuji also, it has this fast rhythm, fast beats to it, and you dance it very, very fast. There are other music from other tribes in Nigeria. The one I just mentioned is naturally from Yoruba land. We have the Igbo land, we have the Awusas, which are the three major tribes in Nigeria. In Nigeria, we are divided into almost 400 tribes. There are a lot of tribes, but the major ones are the Yorubas, Awusas, and the Igbo. So the one I just narrated is mostly with Yoruba. Now, with Igbo and Awusas as well, one general music that is common to all Nigerians is our traditional music, which can take the form of the Fuji, or the Waka, or Akpala, it can take any form. It is tailored into that particular tribe, into that particular tradition. The dances also that go with our music are different. So you are going to see different cultures dancing differently to their own music. Like I said, Nigerians are very, very rich when it comes to culture, dancing, and music. Now, Nigerian music in the modern day is really dominated by many genres, including Hip-Hop, Reggae, and R&B. Many of these genres have influenced Afrobeats. Now, there is a difference between the genre Afrobeat and Afrobeats. Afrobeat is what we got to discuss before with Fela Kuti. Afrobeats, with an F at the end, is a mix of Hip-Hop, R&B. Afrobeats is a mix of Hip-Hop and R&B, and generally used as a word to describe many types of African music. You may have heard some of the popular Afrobeats artists, like Burna Boy, Davido, and Wizkid. They have emerged on the international music scene in recent years. In conclusion, Nigerian music has come such a long way in 60 years, dating back to the days of Fela Kuti. Nigerian music may have its roots in Nigeria, but it is shaking up the world in its modern day popularity and growth. Thanks for listening. Subscribe for regular updates!