Nigerian and Ghanaian Popular Music: Two Varieties of Creolization.

Modern musicians in Nigeria and Ghana have continued to regard sociocultural concerns as essential in their music. The concept of creolization offers an insight into both modes of opposition to entrenched powers. It is a concept that offers penetration into the manner in which the powerless have exerted power in the face of seemingly impossible odds. Furthermore, it forces one to rethink the meaning of the concepts traditional and culture change. Creolization theorists concentrate on the power of the creative imagination present in every culture. That power enables people to present their cultures to others in a fashion calculated to provide them with perceived advantages. In turn, it enables them to fashion elements from other cultures in a manner most consonant with their own social and aesthetic values. Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the singer has a quasi-sacred, protected role. So long as he is operating as a singer, he is a voice of the people and can speak the truth bluntly. For the Nigerian audience, the message of a musical performance is a primary criterion for evaluation. In contrast, the Ghanaian tradition of popular performance sought to subvert the power structure through lulling it into a sense of security.