‘Are there Marlians in the Buhari government?’ Popular music and personality cult in Nigeria
Open Access
- 6 May 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Celebrity Studies
- Vol. 13 (3), 429-447
- https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2021.1918011
Abstract
Today, differences in popular music genres and practices can be attributed to different peoples and cultures of the world in much the same sense as the shared and varied degrees of personality cult traditions. In this respect, Nigeria ranks amongst others with a unique and demonstrable popular music and personality cult culture. Of the available literature, none addresses the relationship between popular music and personality cult in Nigeria. This article is the first to do so. Here, we go beyond a mere analysis of the attributes of an idolised persona in, say, Naira Marley to examining both the ideological and sociological determinants––of literacy, media representation, social class, musical taste, deviancy, and demographic differences––that broadly support Nigerian popular music and personality cult practices. Through synthesising various views of the concept of personality cult with quasi-ethnographic data from some devotees of the Marlian cult, this article provides a critical intervention into how such activities as listening, imitating, and idolising are constructed forms of hero-worship in the Nigerian pop music scene.Keywords
This publication has 39 references indexed in Scilit:
- To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on TwitterConvergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 2011
- Sharing Hip-Hop Cultures: The Case of Nigerians and African AmericansAmerican Behavioral Scientist, 2010
- Pop stars and idolatry: an investigation of the worship of popular music icons, and the music and cult of PrinceJournal of Beliefs & Values, 2010
- The cult of Awo: the political life of a dead leaderThe Journal of Modern African Studies, 2008
- The Role of Popular Music in the Construction of Alternative Spiritual Identities and IdeologiesJournal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2006
- Conclusion: Fascism, Dictators and CharismaTotalitarian Movements and Political Religions, 2006
- The Production of the Chiang Kai-shek Personality Cult, 1929–1975The China Quarterly, 2006
- CULT FICTIONS: CULT MOVIES, SUBCULTURAL CAPITAL AND THE PRODUCTION OF CULTURAL DISTINCTIONSCultural Studies, 2002
- Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: The Art of an Afrobeat RebelThe Drama Review: TDR, 1986
- The Truth in Hell: Maurice Joly on Modern DespotismPolity, 1977