This book examines the importance of popular culture most especially reggae music as an essential tool of challenging bad leadership. The lyrics of Ras Kimono actually did. Ras Kimono was born on 9 May 1958 and was named Oseloke Augustine Onwubuya. He hails from Onicha Olona in Delta State and died on 10 June 2018 in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria. He was a Nigerian reggae artiste whose debut album ‘Under Pressure’ was released on the Premier Music label in 1989. The album had other hits such as Rhumba Stylee, “Under Pressure” and “Natty Get Jail”. He later released other hit albums that challenged western imperialism, slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism, and African identity. He was an advocate of the poor, inequality, and social justice. His lyrics such as Under Pressure, Rhumba Style, What’s Gwan? Gimme Likkle Sugar, Kimono De Want, Rastafari Chant, Natty Get Jail, Kill Apartheid, Rub A Dub Master’ and Jah Guide reflects his fight against tyranny, African root, freedom, and self-realization. This book historicizes the importance of music as an essential tool of confronting tyranny.
He fought Babylon with his lyrics:Life and times of Ras Kimono 1958-2018
He fought Babylon with his lyrics:Life and times of Ras Kimono 1958-2018
€39.99
Author | |
---|---|
ISBN | |
Publication Date | September 25, 2024 |
No. of Pages | 142 |
Size |
About the author
Uche Uwaezuoke Okonkwo is a Nigerian Social Historian with a research interest in Health History, Music and Popular Cultural Studies, Gender, and Sexual Studies, Church History, Igbo Studies, Slave Studies. Sports History, Alcohol and Commodity marketing. Uche is the author of over 12 books and monographs in various fields of Social and Economic History. In addition, he has done a few biographical studies on Archdeacon Dennis, Pita Nwana, and Bob Marley. His articles in scholarly journals are over fifty as well as over 100 conference papers to his credit. His vast teaching experience span many Nigerian universities such as Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, Federal University Wukari, Taraba State, Godfrey Okoye University Enugu and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Uche Uwaezuoke Okonkwo holds a PhD in History and Strategic Studies from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, and was a recipient of the University of Lagos Graduate Fellowship (2007-2009). He is a Visiting Senior Research Associate at the Becker Freidman Institute for Economics and a Scholar in residence at the Harris School of Public Policy Kelly Centre at the University of Chicago, USA. Uche is a widely traveled academic and has won several travel research grants across Africa, Europe, and USA. He has solely authored We Drank Palm Wine Until They Arrived: A Socio-Economic History of Alcohol in Southeastern Nigeria (New Jersey: Goldline and Jacobs, 2017) and co-authored Witchcraft and Nigerian Historiography (New Jersey: Goldline and Jacobs, 2024). He is one of the co-editors of the book Election Has No Meaning: A Re-Appraisal of the 2023 General Elections in Nigeria (Berlin, Galda Verlag, 2024) and the book editor of Bob Marley and the Struggle for Social Justice in Africa (Galda Verlag, 2024)
Table of contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword……………………………………………………..I
Acknowledgements…………………………………………….iii
Dedication …………………………………………………..v
Notes on Contributors………………………………………………..vii
Tributes on Ras Kimono…………………………………………………….ix
Preface…………………………………………………….xi
CHAPTER ONE:
Ras Kimono: Background and Career
Uche Uwaezuoke Okonkwo
Ras Kimono: Background and Career…………………………………………………….1
Kimono Revolutionary Songs…………………………………………………….4
References…………………………………………………….10
CHAPTER TWO:
Ras Kimono: Revolutionary Songs for Social Justice and Equality
Duro Oni
The Rise of Ras Kimono and the Fight Against Social Injustice …………………………………………………….12
Conclusion…………………………………………………….16
References…………………………………………………….17
CHAPTER THREE:
Costuming to Express: Exploring Meaning and Identity in Ras Kimono’s Dressings
Cindy Anene Ezeugwu and Godstime I Eze
Factors to Consider in Choosing Stage Costume…………………………………………………….21
Relevance of Costume to Music Performance…………………………………………………….22
An Overview of Reggae Costume…………………………………………………….24
Semiotics of Artist’s Costumes and Accessories…………………………………………………….24
Perspectives on Kimono and his Choice of Costume…………………………………………………….26
Relevance of Costume and Accessories in “UNDER PRESSURE”…………………………………………………….30
Relevance of Costume and Accessories in “Natty Get Jail”…………………………………………………….30
Relevance of Costume and Accessories in
“Gimme Likkle Sugar for me Tea” …………………………………………………….30
Relevance of Costume and Accessories in “Babylon Burning” …………………………………………………….31
Conclusion …………………………………………………….32
References …………………………………………………….34
CHAPTER FOUR:
Reggae Music: Retrospecton the Singing Performance Technique of Ras Kimono
Timothy P.U Nwokolo
African Popular Music/Nigerian Popular Music…………………………………………………….38
Growth and Spread of the Genre …………………………………………………….40
Ras Kimono…………………………………………………….41
The Structure of Reggae Music …………………………………………………….42
Ras Kimono’s Singing Technique …………………………………………………….43
Application of reggae Singing Approach to the
interpretation of Nigerian art Songs …………………………………………………….43
Conclusion …………………………………………………….44
References …………………………………………………….45
CHAPTER FIVE:
The Dialectics of Sociolect and Patois on EndSars Protest: Through the Lens of
Selected Songs of Ras Kimono
Cindy Anene Ezeugwu, Oguejiofor V. Omeje and Uche-Chinemere Nwaozuzu
Sociolect and the Dialectics of Patois…………………………………………………….49
An Overview of Patois and Reggae…………………………………………………….49
Perspectives on the Ideology of Ras Kimono’s Music …………………………………………………….51
An Overview of Some Select Songs of Kimono …………………………………………………….52
Conclusion …………………………………………………….58
References …………………………………………………….59
CHAPTER SIX:
Ras Kimono’s ‘Kill Apartheid’ and the Rise of Xenophobia Against Nigerians in South Africa
Victor Ukaogo
Foreign Landlords and Indigenous Aliens:
The Arrival of Boers to South Africa …………………………………………………….62
Legal Foundations and the Implications of Fighting the Obnoxious Policy…………………………………………………….65
Nigeria and Apartheid Debacle …………………………………………………….67
South Africa and the Rise of Xenophobia: Poor Sense of History or Weak Reciprocal Attitude? …………………………………………………….69
Xenophobia Eruptions in South Africa …………………………………………………….70
Conclusion: Xenophobia and the Paradox of Hate…………………………………………………….72
References…………………………………………………….74
CHAPTER SEVEN:
Ras Kimono and the Structural
Adjustment Programme in Nigeria
Mathias Chukwudi Isiani, Ngozika Anthonia Obi-Ani and Paul Obi-Ani
IMF Policy in Nigeria: Structural Adjustment Program (Sap)…………………………………………………….78
Ras Kimono Lyrics and Structural Adjustment Programme…………………………………………………….86
Conclusion…………………………………………………….89
References…………………………………………………….90
CHAPTER EIGHT:
Pan Africanism and Historical Awareness through the Lens of Ras Kimono: A Neglected Theme in School Curricular in Nigeria
Ngozika Anthonia Obi-Ani, Okwuchukwu Justice Nzubechi
& Uche Uwaezuoke Okonkwo
The African Identity and Pan Africanism …………………………………………………….99
Historical Awareness …………………………………………………….102
Pan Africanism and African Languages…………………………………………………….104
Pan Africanism and the African Diaspora …………………………………………………….106
Pan Africanism through the Lens of Ras Kimono …………………………………………………….107
Conclusion …………………………………………………….111
References …………………………………………………….113
Index…………………………………………………….115