POPULAR MUSIC CULTURE AND URBAN EXPERIENCES IN NIGERIA
Abstract
In Nigeria, there are different kinds of music and they range from Classical, Church, Traditional/Folk, Marshal to Popular music. Each of these musical types/genres has its own characteristics or conditions under which it thrives. Popular music as the name implies is the music of the masses but with greatest appeal to the youths and most common in urban centres. It propagates a culture which explores the material and symbolic essence of urban experiences. The environmental constitution of urban centres embodied in physical location, space, infrastructure and other sonic effects favour a kind of expression located within the domain of popular music genre. Popular musicians being aware of these factors work towards the production of music that perfectly represent or accommodate the nature and purpose of urban set up/lives. This paper explicates the conditions that necessitate, enhance and or fertilize this breed of genre. It also casts a cursory look at the various hybrids of pop music which sprouted up as a result of modification, transformation and inter-cultural relationship /transfer. Imperatively this genre as a matter of fact, poses some effects on the lives of people; all these are given attention in this discourse.