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Rethinking Spiritual/Cultural Appropriation in Christian Music Making and Consumption: a Study of Nigerian Gospel Music

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Rethinking Spiritual/Cultural Appropriation in Christian Music Making and Consumption: a Study of Nigerian Gospel Music Journal of Fine Arts Volume 1, Issue 1, PP 14-22 Rethinking Spiritual/Cultural Appropriation in Christian Music Making and Consumption: A Study of Nigerian Gospel Music Endong, Floribert Patrick Calvain Department of Theatre and Media Studies, University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria *Corresponding Authors: Endong, Floribert Patrick Calvain, Department of Theatre and Media Studies, University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria ABSTRACT There have been multiple revolutions in the contemporary Christian music and from observable trends, more paradigm shifts are predictable in this music industry. Some of these revolutions and paradigm shifts (notably cultural/spiritual appropriation) have been controversial, somehow driven by human reasoning and aesthetical moves to copy the world. This discourse argues that genuine gospel music making and consumption are Holy Spirit assisted or Spirit-led. As spiritual acts, they are spiritually discerned, exclusively by observers “possessed” by the True Holy Spirit. This is in line with the biblical illumination that spirituality is spiritually discerned by spiritual people (2 Corinthians 1:12). Based on this premise, the article castigates the cultural appropriation paradigm in gospel music industry, equating it to the product of human philosophy. Though culturally sensitive, the appropriation tradition tends to offer religion and religious art in a secular mode with the risk of causing gospel artists to adapt to purely secular standards. Keywords: Appropriation Paradigm, Christian Alternative Music, Nigerian Gospel Music, Secularism, Music of the Devil. INTRODUCTION has been referred to as the “Worship War”. This Worship War constitutes a prism through which Contemporary Christian Music has, in the the making and consumption of Christian music course of its evolution, witnessed the emergence is defined. The War, for instance, very much of various postmodern traditions or artistic inspires contemporary critics‟ views of alternative philosophies. Some of these traditions, notably Christian music and the cultural-spiritual Christian Alternative Music and the appropriation current. (spiritual/cultural) appropriation movement have received mixed reviews on one hand and As a postmodern genre, Christian alternative informed both debates and controversial theories music has been viewed by most puritanical bordering on Christian music making and observers as a questionable, if not, highly consumption on the other hand. This is in line secular musical tradition. Some sceptical critics with the fact that the issue of music style has (the detractors of the alternative current) have – always been very divisive among Christians. for instance – equated the genre with an Preferred musical styles have most often varied exclusively artistic and emotional experience with respect to personal and doctrinal orientations. which, glaringly neglects or deviates from the In most cases, the apologists of these diverse basic principles of genuine worship ministry. In musical preferences have seriously sought to line with this, Olsen (1995) diametrically spiritually legitimize or justify their positions. contrasts the genre to pure evangelistic or As Mueller (2012) insightfully puts it, instead of spiritual Christian music. He opines that the recognizing these differences as personal alternative music current has mainly insisted on preferences and cultural distinctions, some song lyrics, rather than words and harmonies Christians declare their preferred style of music which are now familiar or imperative in to be the only „biblical‟ one” and by the same contemporary Christian music. Additionally, argument, categorise all other forms of music as while most contemporary Christian artistes have “unwholesome, ungodly, or even satanic”. The been striving to be evangelistic and somehow conflicting traditions and philosophies on music spiritual, alternative artistes have shown a making and consumption have generated what greater willingness to experiment artistically as Journal of Fine Arts V1 ● I1 14 Rethinking Spiritual/Cultural Appropriation in Christian Music Making and Consumption: A Study of Nigerian Gospel Music well as to compose humanistic songs about the styles during gospel music performances among dark side of life. Based on these premises, Olsen other traditions. brands Christian alternative music as a genre In view of all these revolutionary - if not which is “too worldly for the Church” and “deviational” – practices; and the multifaceted thereby indirectly warns Christians against the modernization of the genre, the global gospel consumption of the genre. music industry is most often viewed as a This position notwithstanding, some critics have battlefield, where genuine worship and instead viewed Christian alternative music in a questionable – if not spiritually poisonous – good light. Such critics have associated the traditions are opposed. To borrow the language genre with a positive revolution in the growth of of Bulmer (2014: 2), contemporary, Christian Christian music. According to critics such as music – in its multiple facets – is “like the Purcell (2015), the Christian alternative music society it is born from: it is a creation of movement somehow permitted gospel music to oppositional forces [as well as] a mesh of styles catch up with secular music. The movement and ideologies. No other art form is so readily actually seems to have utterly “rectified” or accessible, accepted, and despised”. In the same line of argument, Robin (2014) regards nullified the popular belief/imagination that contemporary music as a way through which Christian music was as much as 5 years behind paganism makes inroads into today‟s global mainstream „secular‟ music. In effect, by the church. “Though sadly, many Christians no early-mid 1990‟s, following the emergence of longer believe music is an area where we need the alternative current, it seemed that Christian to exercise discernment. They have fallen prey music wasn‟t really so behind secular music to a number of music myths perpetuated by the industry. A clear index of such a situation is the godless philosophy of our day”. Robin further fact that some alternative artistes came up with notes that Christians‟ persistent consumption of musical productions that seriously competed “poisonous” religious music is thanks to a with great secular successes. A case in point is number of myths which are grounded on the underground band Nivarna which, with their subjectivism, relativism and carelessness. He alternative grunge record Nevermind (1992), laments that: spectacularly replaced pop legend Michael Christians will agree with non-Christians that Jackson at number on billboards‟ album chart different types of music are better suited to (Purcell 2015). various activities than other types of music. For Another contentious/controversial postmodern example, we could probably all agree that it musical tradition – if not a facet of alternative would be unfitting to play a funeral dirge at a music – has been the appropriation current, a barn-raising or rap music to help a baby get to movement which has sought to literally sleep. It is only when it comes to the activity of “Christianize” hitherto secular traditions. Such a worship that Christians tend to make an “Christianization” has been effected through the exception and say that any type of music is just incorporation of a range of secular artifacts in the melody and lyrics of Christian songs. Some as appropriate as any other type. of the “questionable” traditions recurrently The non-Christian community has no trouble incorporated into contemporary gospel music grasping this general point. If you were to go include the adoption (or rather (mis)appropriation) into a college dormitory and start asking young by gospel singers of contentious – or rather people to suggest a type of music to assist with controversial – rhythms such as hard rock, rock meditation, to work-out to, to create a partying and roll, Rap and Beat (R&B), traditional atmosphere, to invoke a melancholy mood, to African music (rhythms often associated with create a condition of mind appropriate for ancestral worship) as well as the injection of seduction, to hype someone up before a fight, worldly messages in presumably Christian songs most people would be able to match certain as well as the production of remix versions of styles of music to these activities with a secular songs in which lyrical texts are surprising degree of consensus. But when it Christianised. To this list of contested or comes to worship music, many Christians contentious traditions, one should add the hesitate to say that one style might be more secularization and glaring sexualisation of appropriate for worship than another. While we gospel music performance, often manifested by are all ready to acknowledge that certain styles the adoption of suggestive dance and dress 15 Journal of Fine Arts V1 ● I1 Rethinking Spiritual/Cultural Appropriation in Christian Music Making and Consumption: A Study of Nigerian Gospel Music of music are appropriate or inappropriate for a manner. In tandem with this, the Oxford Advanced barbeque, a birthday party, or a barn-raising, Learner Dictionary defines appropriation as the when it comes to worship Christians will deny act of taking something which belongs to that the concept of appropriateness even has someone else, without permission. However, the coherence. (Robin 2014: 17) conceptualization of appropriation has largely varied with respect to contexts. In the
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