A good thinker has asked about how many of us ever stop to think of music as a wondrous link with God; taking sometimes the place of prayer, when words have failed us. Indeed music knows no country, race or creed, but gives to each according to his need. Music is the best of all art forms and luckily the easiest to acquire. It is only the musician who can talk to the whole world at once and be understood by all. Like all other societies, music is an essential part of the Nigerian society. Nigerians are therefore justifiably addicted to music. They make good music and have over the centuries had a positive influence over the music genre and style of other parts of the world. Look at how American popular music forms like Blues, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Hip Hop or the Caribbean reggae and calypso bear the distinctive mark of the drum that originated in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. From India to the Latinos and from Brazil to Cuba the pervasive influence of the drum in their music is unmistakable. There is hardly any popular music in the world today that is not hot on the drums. But like anything indigenous to Nigeria, Nigerian music has had several shifts and tendencies due to its receptiveness and dynamism.

All generations of Nigerians have had music of their generation. Yesterday’s reigning music is today’s oldies and our contemporary music would surely be old school to our children. Although the various nationalities in the country have retained their specific rhythms and melodies that we call traditional music, much of the popular or commercial music in the country today is a fusion or assemblage of American, Western, Caribbean or other world styles and Nigerian and other African beats. Nigerian musicians are understandably an integral part of the world music. Most young musicians in Nigeria today brand their kind of music as Afro Hip Hop, meaning that despite the western or foreign influences, Nigerian or African beats still form the benchmark of their music. Even though some of them merely mimic established American musicians, the majority of them justify their claim with their lyrics, beats and dance styles. If all other aspects of our lives have been adulterated by foreign pressures, there is no reason for us to expect our music to be insulated from foreign influences. In between this however, is the awareness that music is the most singular preserver of culture. To abandon the job of preserving the ‘Nigerian’ in the Nigerian music to the market place is like leaving mice in the custody of a cat. Techonological and scientific advantages of the music from the west enhances its all conquering nature and the unfortunate complex that our elites have for foreign music makes it imperative for all those who should be concerned to give a fillip to those who are putting out themselves to preserve the Nigerian element in our music.

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