| Peer-Reviewed

Binary Structure in Selected Songs of Beautiful Nubia

Received: 10 November 2022    Accepted: 5 December 2022    Published: 24 May 2023
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Music is a means of communication and a representation of ideas, especially among Africans. The transmission of cultural beliefs from one generation to the next is facilitated by music. Music and poetry in general have been employed in traditional African civilization to unite the people, arouse their consciousness toward a liberalizing of their minds, and occasionally to adopt revolutionary methods against their oppressors. In this sense, music has served as a socialization and liberating instrument in modern society. The social realities of the average person continue to be reflected in the songs of contemporary musicians. Segun Akinlolu, better known by his stage name Beautiful Nubia, is one such musician who has employed his music as a powerful tool for informing and organizing the populace. Nigerian musician Beautiful Nubia is well-known for delving into the Yoruba cultural roots to depict the plight of the average man. As it is typical for some well-known Yoruba popular musicians to sing about “big guys” and “wealthy people”, as far as we are aware, Beautiful Nubia has never praised the powerful in any of his songs. Instead, Beautiful Nubia has persisted in using his songs as a tool to inform the general public about their conditions. To this end, this paper investigates the numerous distinctions among the various social groups as they are depicted in some selected songs from Beautiful Nubia. The Binary structure, a component of struturalist theory that contends that society is organized around oppositional structures such as rich vs poor, haves versus have-nots, etc., serves as the theoretical foundation for this paper. The study comes to the conclusion that music is a powerful tool for enlightening and liberating the masses.

Published in American Journal of Art and Design (Volume 8, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajad.20230802.13
Page(s) 31-36
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Music, Liberation, Binary Structure, Beautiful Nubia, Communication

References
[1] Adedeji A. (2010) Yoruba Culture and its Influence on the Development of Modern Popular Music in Nigeria. A PhD thesis, The University of Sheffield.
[2] Adegoju A. (2009) “The Musician as Archivist: An Example of Nigeria’s Lagbaja. Itupale Online Journal of African Studies. Vol. I.
[3] Ahmadi A. et al (2013). Binary Oppositions in the Structure of Masnavi Stories. Journal of Language Teaching and Research. Vol. 4 No. 4 Pp. 724-730.
[4] Cuddon, J. A. (1999). A Dictionary of Literary Terms, 4th edition, London, penguin.
[5] Furniss G. and Gunner L (2008) Power, Marginality and African Oral Literature. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. Vol. 69.1 pg.
[6] Kehinde, A. (2005) Rethinking African Fiction in the Era of Globalisation: A Contest of Text and Context”. Journal of Nigeria English Studies Association. Vol. 6 (1) 87-100.
[7] Nketia J. H. (1964) Music of Africa. New York W. W. Horton & Company Inc.
[8] Obeng N. (2015) Ghanaian Popular Music and Socio-political Commentary: A Case Study of Barima Sidney. A Thesis Submitted to the University of Ghana, Legon.
[9] Odetade, I. O. (2017) Characterisation and Techniques of Women’s Representation in Fuji and Juju Music. A Postgraduate Thesis Submitted to the Department of English, ObafemiAwolowo University, Ile-Ife.
[10] Ogidan D. (2011) Music as Political Activism: A Case Study of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s Afro-beat. A Project submitted to the University of Lagos.
[11] Opara R. (2012) Art as a Media for Social Commentary: A Case Study of Igbo Bongo Musicians, South-Eastern Nigeria. A Thesis Submitted to the University of Louisville, Kentucky.
[12] Stiver, Dan. (1996). The Philosophy of Religious language, symbol and story, Blackwell.
[13] Tyson L. (2006). Critical Theory Today. A User Friendly Guide. USA: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
[14] Van der Geest, S & Asante-Darko N. K. (1982) The Political Meaning of Highlife Songs. African Studies Review, Vol. 25, No. 130.
[15] Whitehead, N. Alfred. (1933). Adventures of Ideas, New York: New American.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ibitayo Odetade. (2023). Binary Structure in Selected Songs of Beautiful Nubia. American Journal of Art and Design, 8(2), 31-36. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20230802.13

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Ibitayo Odetade. Binary Structure in Selected Songs of Beautiful Nubia. Am. J. Art Des. 2023, 8(2), 31-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20230802.13

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Ibitayo Odetade. Binary Structure in Selected Songs of Beautiful Nubia. Am J Art Des. 2023;8(2):31-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20230802.13

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajad.20230802.13,
      author = {Ibitayo Odetade},
      title = {Binary Structure in Selected Songs of Beautiful Nubia},
      journal = {American Journal of Art and Design},
      volume = {8},
      number = {2},
      pages = {31-36},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajad.20230802.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20230802.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajad.20230802.13},
      abstract = {Music is a means of communication and a representation of ideas, especially among Africans. The transmission of cultural beliefs from one generation to the next is facilitated by music. Music and poetry in general have been employed in traditional African civilization to unite the people, arouse their consciousness toward a liberalizing of their minds, and occasionally to adopt revolutionary methods against their oppressors. In this sense, music has served as a socialization and liberating instrument in modern society. The social realities of the average person continue to be reflected in the songs of contemporary musicians. Segun Akinlolu, better known by his stage name Beautiful Nubia, is one such musician who has employed his music as a powerful tool for informing and organizing the populace. Nigerian musician Beautiful Nubia is well-known for delving into the Yoruba cultural roots to depict the plight of the average man. As it is typical for some well-known Yoruba popular musicians to sing about “big guys” and “wealthy people”, as far as we are aware, Beautiful Nubia has never praised the powerful in any of his songs. Instead, Beautiful Nubia has persisted in using his songs as a tool to inform the general public about their conditions. To this end, this paper investigates the numerous distinctions among the various social groups as they are depicted in some selected songs from Beautiful Nubia. The Binary structure, a component of struturalist theory that contends that society is organized around oppositional structures such as rich vs poor, haves versus have-nots, etc., serves as the theoretical foundation for this paper. The study comes to the conclusion that music is a powerful tool for enlightening and liberating the masses.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Binary Structure in Selected Songs of Beautiful Nubia
    AU  - Ibitayo Odetade
    Y1  - 2023/05/24
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20230802.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajad.20230802.13
    T2  - American Journal of Art and Design
    JF  - American Journal of Art and Design
    JO  - American Journal of Art and Design
    SP  - 31
    EP  - 36
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2578-7802
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20230802.13
    AB  - Music is a means of communication and a representation of ideas, especially among Africans. The transmission of cultural beliefs from one generation to the next is facilitated by music. Music and poetry in general have been employed in traditional African civilization to unite the people, arouse their consciousness toward a liberalizing of their minds, and occasionally to adopt revolutionary methods against their oppressors. In this sense, music has served as a socialization and liberating instrument in modern society. The social realities of the average person continue to be reflected in the songs of contemporary musicians. Segun Akinlolu, better known by his stage name Beautiful Nubia, is one such musician who has employed his music as a powerful tool for informing and organizing the populace. Nigerian musician Beautiful Nubia is well-known for delving into the Yoruba cultural roots to depict the plight of the average man. As it is typical for some well-known Yoruba popular musicians to sing about “big guys” and “wealthy people”, as far as we are aware, Beautiful Nubia has never praised the powerful in any of his songs. Instead, Beautiful Nubia has persisted in using his songs as a tool to inform the general public about their conditions. To this end, this paper investigates the numerous distinctions among the various social groups as they are depicted in some selected songs from Beautiful Nubia. The Binary structure, a component of struturalist theory that contends that society is organized around oppositional structures such as rich vs poor, haves versus have-nots, etc., serves as the theoretical foundation for this paper. The study comes to the conclusion that music is a powerful tool for enlightening and liberating the masses.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of English, Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Ondo, Nigeria

  • Sections