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Globalization and 'Africanization' of Contemporary Pop Music

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Globalization and 'Africanization' of Contemporary Pop Music Covenant University Journal of Politics & Internationall Affairs. Vol. 6 No. 1, Dec. 2018 An Open Access Journal Available Online Globalization and ‘Africanization’ of Contemporary Pop Music: Implications for History and Theory Okoli Al Chukwuma (Ph.D)1 & Atelhe George Atelhe (Ph.D)2 1Department of Political Science, Federal University Lafia, Nigeria, 2Department of Political Science, University of Calabar, Nigeria, [email protected] [email protected] Abstract: Globalization is the essence of the contemporary world order. As a dynamic evolutionary process, globalization identifies both with homogenization and hybridization of cultures. The process of globalization has been associated with the paradoxes of globalism and localism: the global is getting rather localized while the local is becoming increasingly globalized. The impact of globalization on aspects of world‟s civilizations has been tremendous. With reference to popular culture, the influence has been far- reaching. This influence has often been described as westernization in view of its western predilection. But whilst contemporary popular culture has been overly reflecting the dynamic of western cultural homogenization, its pop music component tends to have been corresponding to an „Africanized hybridization‟. This has been exemplified in some inter-related tendencies, viz: (i) African artists are currently dominating the pop music art worldwide (ii) African sound-scapes feature very prominently and predominantly in the music (iii) African ethno-musicological heritage find copious and profound expression in the prevailing genres. The study thus explores how globalization tends to be transforming contemporary pop music into a sort of an Africanized pattern. Relying on a discursive descriptive analysis, the study problematizes this „Africanization‟ tendency, drawing its implications for the history, theory, and praxis of cultural globalization. Capitalizing on the global exploits of Afro- pop, Reggae/Ragga and Hip-hop/Rap, the paper posits that the influence of globalization on contemporary African popular music is promising; adumbrating a prospect of an African cultural renaissance in the era. Keywords: Africanization, Cultural Globalization, Homogenization, Hybridization, Pop Music. 41 Okoli Al Chukwuma & Atelhe George Atelhe CUJPIA (2018) 6(2) 41-53 1. Introduction More elaborately, Agawu and Agawu .Globalization is evidently the essence (2016:305-306) opine: of the contemporary world order. It is One can nowadays attend mega the consummation of the age-long concerts in parks, on college transformation of the world into global campuses, and in community society, based on advances in theatres and dance halls in communication, transportation, and Berlin, Paris, Toronto, Moscow, Madrid, Melbourne, Rio, Atlanta, information technologies (Onu, 2004; and New York and observe Okoli, 2017). The world in the Twenty- thousands of (mostly) non- first Century is thus characterized by African youths dancing “the integration of humanity and the enthusiastically to African compression of temporal and spatial beats…Nowadays, recorded dimensions of human interaction African music can be heard on worldwide”, (Chirila-Donciu, n.d), such any number of radio or TV that economic, political, ecological and shows, accessed at various socio-cultural “events in one part of the internet sites, including YouTube, world quickly come to have and of course listened to in the personal listening libraries of significance for people in other parts of millions of young people strapped the world” (William, 2009: para 1). to iPods. This is nothing less than The impact of globalization has been an explosion of African music radically tremendous in all facets of the onto the world stage. contemporary society: politics, The paper examines the seeming economy, environment and culture. ascendancy of African pop music on the Within the sphere of culture, world stage in the era of globalization. globalization has brought about wide Among other things, the paper ranging global exchanges and diffusion problematizes this apparent seeming in the areas of education, sports, „Africanization‟ of contemporary pop religion, ideology, and popular culture. music against the backdrop of the The dynamics of globalization has theory, history and praxis of cultural vigorously transformed how cultural globalization. products are made, circulated and 2. Methodology, Scope and Structure consumed. It has equally transformed of the Paper how the associated capital is generated This paper is exploratory and and appropriated (Varboord & discursive. It utilizes a thematic Brandellero, 2016). approach to advance its discourse, The transformative impact of relying wholly on theoretical and globalization in the arena of popular empirical insights generated from culture is immanently evident on the secondary sources. Within the wider field of music. From the perspective of frame of cultural globalization, the African music, Agawu and Agawu locus of the study resides in the (2016:305) interestingly observe that discursive episteme that interrogates the the impacts of globalization “have impact of globalization on the process combined to make African music more of cultural production, but also and more audible and less and less consumption. By cultural production it avoidable in many parts of the world”. is meant “the conscious creation of cultural artistic services and goods for 42 Okoli Al Chukwuma & Atelhe George Atelhe CUJPIA (2018) 6(2) 41-53 both purely aesthetic and personal framework of the paper. Next is the purposes, and commercial purposes examination of the nexus between (Breton1982, cited in Dube, globalization and contemporary pop 1996:99).The crux of the globalization- music from the standpoint of the rising cultural production discourse is to profile of some African popular musical understand how cultural flows (cultural genres on the world stage. This is products and capital) arising from followed by a section on the globalization emanate and circulate implications of the outcome of the from point of production to that of analysis for history, theory and praxis. consumption. More pertinently, the The last section is the conclusion, discourse is also concerned with which winds up the paper. ascertaining the interests of who are 3. Conceptual Clarifications served in the process (cf. Deloumeaux, Three basic terms constitute the 2016). conceptual thrust of this papers namely As a veritable example of cultural globalization, Africanization and goods, pop music nicely fits into the popular music. This section considers cultural production schemata, within the these concepts in turn in an effort to wider remit of cultural globalization situate their operational meanings in the discourse (Deloumeaux, 2016).So, to context of the present discourse. properly appreciate and situate the stake 3.1 Globalization: This refers to the of Africa in the globalizing arena of pop transformation of the world into a music, it is germane to ask fundamental global society, characterized by questions regarding whose identity, interconnectivity and inter-dependence values, and/or interests are being (cf. Onu, 2004). According to McLean promoted thereof. Here, the analytical and McMillan: posers adverted to in Bender (2001) are Globalization is about the universal found opposite: i. Who are the process offset of processes which ambassadors? ii. In what language do generate a multiplicity of linkages they communicate? iii. What images of and inter-connections which African/Black culture convey? iv. What transcend the states and societies stereotypes do they further or dispel? v. which make up the modern world In what ways is Africa beneficiaries of system. It involves a dramatic the global exposure and visibility? increase in the density and depth of economic, ecological and societal The aforementioned questions, among interdependence, with „density‟ others, would form the points of referring to the increased number, reference in the course of the paper. range and scope of cross border The remainder of the paper is broadly transactions; and „depth‟ to the organized in five sections. Following degree to which that interdependence the foregoing is a section on conceptual affects and is affected by, the ways in clarifications, whereby the key terms which societies are organized domestically (2003:223). that constitute the conceptual thrust of the paper are considered in an effort to Globalization is characterized by the situate their operational meanings. This dynamics and dialectics of spatial and is in turn followed by a theoretical temporal integration on the worldwide discourse on globalization and culture, and regional scales (Penalver, 2002; designed to dovetail into the theoretical Chirila-Donciu, n.d). It is a dynamic 43 Okoli Al Chukwuma & Atelhe George Atelhe CUJPIA (2018) 6(2) 41-53 and complex phenomenon with contemporaneous music with broad, multifaceted expressions in the realms immediate and implicitly transient of politics, economy, environment, and attractiveness which appeals to a mass culture (Okoli, 2017). This paper is audience. Such music is quite receptive concerned with the cultural dimension to people since they are familiar with its of globalization, which has to do with idioms and does not require guided the socio-cultural manifestations of the listening”. globalizing trend. Pop music is an important aspect of the 3.2 Africanization: The concept of contemporary global popular culture „Africanization‟ is applied
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