Ears to the Ground
Realness, Decolonial Meta-Rap, and the Language Debate in Nigerian Hip-Hop
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2173395 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tosin Gbogi (0000-0002-0019-6395, Marquette University) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 365-380 |
| Publication date | 2024-07-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of African Cultural Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-6815 • E-ISSN: 1469-9346 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13696815.2024.2340727 |
| OpenAlex | W4398200548 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 28 |
Constantly shifting like a floating signifier, the interpretive life of "realness" has meant different things to global Hip-Hop adherents: staying true to oneself; reppin' one's hood; production styles such as boom bap; cadence, delivery, and flow; vivid storytelling; and underground resistance to forces of capitalist cooptation, among others. Yet to many others, realness means language – the artful capacity to rap, talk, and style oneself in ways that index one's cultural roots and identities. In this article, I consider the latter understanding of realness through the theoretical lens of decolonial meta-rap. In decolonial meta-rap, Nigerian emcees turn the reflexive apparatus of Hip-Hop back to itself, in the process raising questions about anglonormativity and colonial continuities in Nigeria. Focusing on the discourses of these emcees as well as their self-presentations in oral interviews and music videos, I argue that Nigerian emcees both popularize and continue the long decolonial struggle against cultural sites of colonial power in Africa
Sociology · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Multilingual Education and Policy · Music History and Culture
The Long Revolution
Spectacular Vernaculars
Roc the Mic Right
Descolonitzar la ment
Of Commodities and Objects
“Throw the Money in the Air”
Doin’ damage in my native language
Caliban's Curse
It may be verifyit that thy wit is thin”
The Dead End of African Literature
The intersection of sex and social class in the course of linguistic change
The Oxford Handbook of African American Language
To Make Song Without Singing
Black Women Queering the Mic
Africa in Stereo
Misogyny in Rap Music
English is an African language - Ka Dupe! [for and against Ngũgĩ]
Hiphop Africa
Discourse Strategies
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |