QUASI-RELIGIOUS TRADITIONAL PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIAN POPULAR MUSIC GENRES: AN APPRAISAL OF LAGBAJA’S PERFORMANCE CONTEXT

Abstract

This article explores the quasi-religious manifestations in Nigerian popular music genres, using the performance style of the renowned musician, La?gba?ja? as a case study. The paper highlights the fusion of religious ideologies and music in Nigerian culture by examining how La?gba?ja?’s music embodies elements of religious symbolism and ritualistic practices. By analyzing La?gba?ja?’s performance style, this article aims to shed light on the intersection of music, religion, and identity in contemporary Nigerian society where at different points individual musicians have rejected, reflected or helped to (re)constitute sacred practices via their music practice. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part describes the musical types which can be referred to as Nigerian contemporary popular music. The second part discusses the developmental dynamism in Nigerian pop music. In answering the following questions what is the role of religion in lives of artists within the popular music genre? How is religious metaphor reflected in popular music’s instrumentation and vocal arrangement? When does Fandom become a form of worship? The syncretism theory (Coplan, 1982) is used to examine La?gba?ja?’s profile and performance style in the areas of stage showmanship and instrumentation. The research methodologies used in collecting the needed data for this paper are the participant observation and interview methods. The paper observes that the strong point of La?gba?ja?’s performance style which although based on the Yoru?ba? traditional masked entertainers’ features, also has a cosmopolitan outlook. This is achieved in the way he deliberately combines the musical experience from his cultural background with the new developments in instruments and recording technology which has made the music widely accepted at the international level. The paper, therefore, concludes that Nigerian popular music genres are veritable channels for inter-religious tolerance existence nationwide.