LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's most talked-about hip-hop video exhibits all the excesses of its American counterparts — beautiful, scantily clad models, a mansion and a bathtub full of hundred-dollar bills.
But the biggest surprise? America's own Snoop Dogg
playing back up to Nigerian star D'banj, embracing him as his nephew and taking
a Nigerian passport before leaving the rest of the remixed "Mr.
Endowed" to the Yoruba-singing heartthrob.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with 150
million people, long has been a leading cultural influence across the
continent. Its low-budget "Nollywood" films can be found everywhere,
while its music plays in taxicabs and minibuses far beyond its borders.
Now, however, Nigerian artists who once mainly
imitated U.S. hip-hop proudly include African beats and their local languages
on their own energetic songs. That combination appeals to both Nigerians, who
are now proud of so-called "Naija" music, and to a growing foreign
following as well.
"The beauty of music is that you don't need to
understand it," female rapper Mo'Cheddah recently told The Associated
Press. "Our music is traveling."
Like American hip-hop and pop music, Nigerian
hip-hop uses samples, and also borrows from dancehall, house, and even zouk
beats. The languages used are mainly Nigerian, with a predominance of Nigerian
Pidgin English, as vocalists either sing, rap, or blend a combination of the
two. It's is mostly upbeat, feel-good music, and the message usually
optimistic. It's hugely popular, represents the youth culture and has become
part of the mainstream Nigerian sound.
Satellite television networks like MTV Base,
Channel O and Trace that transverse the continent cemented the reputation of
Nigerian urban music in Africa. Songs by Nigerian artists like 2Face, P-Square
and MI feature prominently at nightclubs in neighboring Ghana and as far away
as Uganda and South Africa.
With a growing Nigerian population in the United
States, Europe and Asia, the appetite for the tunes has only been growing.
"When I started out in the '90s, I struggled
to play Nigerian music, but now I find it difficult to play anything
else," Nigerian DJ Jimmy Jatt told the AP after recently returning from a
trip to Malaysia.
"People are feeling our sound
everywhere," he said. "I try not to be selfish but the moment I move
away from our stuff, the party slows down. Music from other countries is also
good, but it's just that ours is high energy."
While irresistibly danceable beats and the use of
local languages and slang have become defining traits of Nigeria's urban sound,
it also carries with it a nationalistic pride sometimes missing in the diverse
nation. Home to more than 150 ethnic groups and even more local languages, Nigerians
of different origins are still learning to live together 50 years after the
West African country gained independence from Britain and some 40 years after
the end of a bloody civil war.
Nigeria's best-known artists offer a united
identity for a fractured nation. Rappers like Naeto C from the country's
Christian southeast borrow words from the Hausa language of the Muslim north
and the Yoruba language in the southwest.
"We're representing our country to the
fullest," said Mo'Cheddah, the recent winner of the MTV Africa Music
Awards' Best Brand New Act award. "We're putting our country on the map on
a positive note. It's not just about the bad things, fraud."
It's also catching an international reputation as
Nigerians put more of their music online. A French music executive late last
year approached Audu Maikori, CEO of the Nigerian record label Chocolate City,
to license a song.
"At first I thought, what would a French guy
want this? But, that's what social media does," Maikori said. "People
can now share. ... The traditional revenue streams have died but there's a
whole new audience for your music."
Those new ways to earn money remain incredibly
important in Nigeria, a nation awash in pirated movies and music. Pirated CDs
remain much easier to come by than original ones hawked in Lagos traffic or
hanging in market stalls. Now, artists no longer expect to make profit from
albums. At an average price of $1, the records are only meant to promote their
act.
Nigeria has had a long musical tradition with
artists such as IK Dairo honored by the Queen of England as early as 1963.
Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti fought against the injustices of military
rule in Nigeria and inspired a Tony Award-winning Broadway show long after his
death.
But Nigerian hip-hop is more social than it is
political, often addressing the challenges of everyday life while delivering a
dose of optimism that Nigerians can overcome them. There's also a strong
element of nationalism, as videos make generous use of the Nigerian flag and
its green-and-white color scheme.
Now, the new generation too is paving the way with
its own musical traditions.
"When you see this, Africa, you know, believe
in yourself," D'banj said in a video clip showing him sitting next to
Snoop Dogg. "Believe in the future."
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
Photo
Caption: In this March 22, 2011, photo, a man displays CDs of Nigerian hip hop
artist D'banj for sale in a market in Lagos, Nigeria. Nigerian artists who once
only imitated U.S. samples proudly include African beats and their local
languages into energetic songs. That combination appeals to both Nigerians who
are now proud of so-called "Naija" music and to a growing foreign
following as well.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
