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'Sexual Largess' Themes, Lyrics and Images in Nigerian Hip- Hop

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'Sexual Largess' Themes, Lyrics and Images in Nigerian Hip- Hop 1 Sexuality and ‘Sexual Largess’ Themes, Lyrics and Images in Nigerian Hip- Hop Music Videos: A Content Analysis By Jemisenia John Oluwaseyi 08032070010 [email protected] & Ezenagu Nnedinma Roseline 08054805605 [email protected] Department of Sociology and Anthropology University of Nigeria Nsukka Abstract Sexual contents in the media have received great attention from scholars and researchers since the 1980s till present, regrettably very little has been done in this area of research in Nigeria, where increasing controversies have continued to trail the contents of videos that are shown on such terrestrial channels as Channel ‘O’, Hip-TV, Soundcity, Mtv base, and BET. Issues surrounding the rate of sexuality, sex, sexism, objectification, materialism, and the ‘good life’ (as it is shown on these music channels) have come under intense scrutiny by observers, commentators, scholars and the general public. Consequently, this study analyzed themes, lyrics and images bordering on sexuality and sexual largess in Nigerian Hip-Hop music videos on two popular stations on the terrestrial channels: Soundcity and Hip.Tv music channels between the periods of April to June, 2015. Through a multi-stage sampling technique, 132 videos were selected for analysis. Two independent coders were trained. The Cohen’s kappa (k) symmetric measure of agreement was employed in order to ensure the reliability of items. The Cohen’s kappa (k) for this study was 0.792. Altogether, result revealed that sexual themes, lyrics and images that are derogatory to womanhood are predominant in the analyzed music videos. The study recommends among others, enlightenment on the part of musicians/artistes on the need to promote messages of gender equality. Key Words: Feminism, Hip.Tv, music videos, sexuality, sexual largess, Soundcity Tv 2 Introduction The impact of music videos on the lives of people, most especially the youths in most societies is undeniable. As a medium of communication, music stands out as a significant agent of socialization that enforces and reinforces attitudes, opinions and behaviours relating to sexuality. As such, this medium appears to play a powerful role in the social construction of knowledge about the world (Angell). By means of themes, lyrical content and movie like scenes, the subtle domination of women by men, ingress the psyche of audience members of the public, whether consciously or unconsciously. Commenting on this therefore, Yocum, notes that lyrics, beat, tempo, and melody creates the length through which we can view the world and find a voice that reflects lived experiences (19). For men and women therefore, the didactic impact that this medium has on them greatly differs with far reaching consequences. For example, both sexes (most especially the females) see themselves the way this medium describes them and even in specific circumstance, they act it out, covet it and even wish to be like them, even though, they know that the characters shown in the videos are fictitious. Studies (e.g., Dunnu and Ugbo; McKenna) give credence to the above submission. At the center of all these are the television broadcast stations that have solely been dedicated to showing music videos every 24 hours of the day. This is a common place around the world and for Nigeria in particular, music video broadcast stations play significant role in the socialization of Nigerians, most especially the youths. Through this medium, that ideas pertaining to gender roles and sexuality are passed to the audience members of the public through themes, lyrical contents and imageries. Concerning the types of themes, images and representation, several content analyses have shown that from 1940s to present, 70 percent to 90 percent of popular songs have contained themes related to sexuality (Arnett). Specifically, one of the most striking features of music 3 videos is the sharp demarcation of gender roles especially in terms of sexuality (Arnett). For instance, in a content analysis of 1,000 music video characters, Utterback et al., found that males are more depicted as adventurous, aggressive, and dominant while on the other hand, women are more often depicted as affectionate, fearful, and nurturing. Other studies however, found more degrading representation of women as sex objects, subjects, pleasers, properties, the weaker sex, faceless or lacking identity (Sommers-Flanaga, Sommers-Flagana and Davis, see also, Arachie; Kimbrell; Lewis); and are regularly shown in images and scenes suggestive of erotic sexual relation (Gow; Greeson and Williams; Pardun and McKee; Sherman and Dominick). Similar studies have also showed that women were usually “portrayed as a decorative sexual object” and were seen wearing revealing clothing as against men who usually appear fully clothed (American Psychological Association 5). Although, several studies have documented the depiction and representation of women through music videos, scanty literature exists in terms of sexualization of women in the lyrics of these videos (American Psychological Association). Equally, sexual contents in the media have received great attention from scholars and researchers since the 1980s till present, most especially in the United States (Kimbrel), regrettably very little has been done in this area of research, in Africa and particularly in Nigeria. In this current research, therefore, we analyzed themes, lyrics and scenes bordering on sexuality and sexual largess in Nigerian Afro Hip-Hop music videos on two popular stations on the terrestrial channels; Soundcity and Hip.Tv music channels. Statement of the Problem Following the deregulation of the broadcast media in 1992 by the Babangida regime, an expanded way of broadcast communication emerged. From that time to the present day, music videos of varying genres (both within and outside Nigeria) have enjoyed air play from most of 4 the available private broadcast stations in the country and this has given members of the public the opportunity of watching these videos. It can also be said that along the line, with the advent of democracy in 1999, the Nigerian music industry itself grew from being unacceptable by Nigerians to being the favourite of Nigerians themselves as Nigerian music enjoyed massive airplay like never before. Thus the Nigerian music broadcast stations, most especially the private ones, are in part, constantly, responsible for playing videos, as new songs are released and new videos put into the market for public consumption. Beyond the scope of this recent development, are the controversies that have continued to trail the contents of videos that are shown on such terrestrial channels as Channel ‘O’ (now shut down), Hip-TV, Soundcity, Mtv base, and BET. Issues surrounding the frequency and rates of sexuality, sex, sexism, objectification, materialism, and the ‘good life’ as it is shown on these music channels have come under intense scrutiny by observers, commentators, scholars and the general public; this creates an epistemological gap and in the frequency and the underlying meanings of sexual themes, imageries and lyrical contents of these music videos and therefore demands pressing investigation. Consequently, the study carried out a content analysis of music videos that were aired on Soundcity and Hip.TV within the period of April to June, 2015. Research Question 1. What is the frequency of sexual themes and lyrics shown on Soundcity and Hip.TV within the period of April to June, 2015? 2. What is the frequency and the underlying meanings of sexual images shown on Soundcity and Hip.TV within the period of April to June, 2015? 3. How are men and women portrayed in the music videos that were shown on Soundcity and Hip.TV between the periods of April to June, 2015? 5 Objectives of the Study 1. To determine the frequency of sexual themes, lyrics and images shown on Soundcity and Hip.TV within the period of April to June, 2015. 2. To determine the frequency and the underlying meanings of sexual images shown on Soundcity and Hip.TV within the period of April to June, 2015. 3. To determine how men and women are portrayed in the music videos that were shown on Soundcity and Hip.TV between the periods of April to June, 2015. Operational Definition of Terms 1. Sexuality: this refers to the description, comparism, labeling, erotic activity (positions) and name calling of bodies in music videos. 2. Portrayal: this refers to the assignment of specific behaviour to males or females, in relation to sexuality and other issues. 3. Themes: this refers to the main subject that keeps recurring in a piece of music. 4. “Sexual Largess”: this refers to acts of generosity in the giving of sexual satisfaction that it is usually elicited by forceful or subtle demand. 5. Nigerian Hip-hop music: this refers to the Nigerian made hip-hop genre of music which is composed and performed by employing a blend of several local dialects and are often times intermixed with English Language. 4. Hip-hop music videos: this refers to the Nigerian hip-hop motion pictures that are accessible to audience members through satellite channels by private broadcast stations. 6 Literature Review The Concept of Sexuality The concept of ‘sexuality’ has though existed for a very long time, the meanings and the perception cultivated towards it was immersed in concealment. But over the past few generations, sexuality has become more open (“Perspective on Human Sexuality” 3). That being so, the term itself connotes different things to different people; suggesting a lack of universal definition. For the purpose of this study therefore, we used the definition of Advocacy for Youths wherein sexuality was defined in terms of sensuality, sexual identity and sexualization (excluding other terms like, intimacy and sexual health reproduction). First, sensuality is the awareness and feeling about your own body and other people’s bodies, especially the body of a sexual partner (Advocates for Youths 124). Sensuality further enables humans to feel great about their bodies’ look and feel and what they can do.
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