Nigeria Rocks with Pop

The Nigerian music industry is beginning to thrive in pop music. Beautiful pieces are lifted and recreated into popular sounding outcomes. But she is yet to blossom in Rock music. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] Pop music is modern commercial music, usually tuneful, up-tempo and repetitive, that is aimed at the general public and the youth market in particular. Types of popular music include jazz, music from motion pictures and musical comedies, country-and-western music, rhythm-and-blues music (R&B), rock music, and rap (or hip-hop). Shaped by social, economic, and technological forces, popular music is closely linked to the social identity of its performers and audiences. Early musical styles were also very influential in shaping popular music. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] Electronic dance music, popularly known as techno, characterized by a quick tempo and the use of digitally synthesized instruments has found way into the Nigerian music synergy. A few Nigerian acts have made attempts. Omawunmi attempted an Afro-Kwasa-techno kind of piece with In the Music. Techno first emerged in the 1970s. Some forms of techno were influenced by punk rock; others by experimental art music, jazz, and world music; and still others by black popular music, including funk and rap. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] Punk music is another major influence. A movement of disaffected youth of the late 1970s, manifesting itself in fashions and music designed to shock or intimidate. Punk music began in New York City and London and stressed aggressive and fast performance, often within a three-chord, three-minute format, as exemplified by British punk group the Sex Pistols and New York punk group the Ramones. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] Ostensibly a rejection of everything that had gone before, punk rock drew on more than a decade of 1960s garage bands in the United States. Reggae and rockabilly were also important influences on, for example, the Clash, one of the most successful British punk bands. The punk movement also brought more women into rock and was generally anti-racist and anti-establishment. The musical limitations imposed by its insistence on amateurism and by its provocation of outrage contributed to the decline of punk rock, but aspects live on in hardcore punk and grunge. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] Nigeria might have started excelling in the area of Pop music, but Rock music, as a part of Pop music is relatively far away from her. A venture into this genre will have enormous requirements, but it is sure near achievable. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] Since its inception in the 1950s, rock music has moved from the margins of American popular music to become the center of a multi-billion-dollar global industry. Closely connected with youth culture, rock music and musicians have helped to establish new fashions, forms of language, attitudes, and political views. However, rock music is no longer limited to an audience of teenagers, since many current listeners formed their musical tastes during the golden age of rock and roll. Similarly, while rock has historically encouraged new creative expressions, the innovations of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix have defined a tradition to which successive generations of musicians have repeatedly turned for inspiration. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] From its origins, rock music has been shaped by a complex relationship between freedoms—symbolized by the image of the rebellious rock musician—and corporate control. Originally a mixture of styles outside the mainstream of white middle-class popular taste, rock and roll soon became a mass-produced commodity. This tension between individuality and commercialism still looms large in rock music and is reflected in fan distaste for musicians who compromise, or sell out, their musical values in order to secure multi-million-dollar recording contracts. Shaped by technology, the growth of the mass media, and the social identities of its artists and audiences, rock music continues to play a central role in the popular culture of the United States and, increasingly, the world. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] Just like every other genre, Rock music has its alternate. Rooftop MCs felt they attempted it with ‘Lagimo’. They tried. Djinee did a semblance with ‘I no dey shame’. It was an alternate but it was cool. Contemporary Foreign Rock stars includes sounds like those of Rolling Stone, Linkin Park, The Fray, Kings of Leon, Nickelback, 30Seconds to Mars, Rush of Fools, Bon Jovi, Switch foot, Avril Larvigne, Evanescence, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Bryan Adams, Rolldeep, and many more. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] As the genres recycle, we hope to have the Nigerian industry rock with Rock music. We are way passed the era of being too careful to make your album sell due to popular demand by the audience. Nigerians should have out-grown this cliché ‘selling’ point gimmick by now. Good music should be her aspiration. And maybe there may be a couple of Rock stars yet underground, hoping to shoot out with stuffs. We’ll wait for y’all. Rock your world!!!!!!!