How Music Plays an Important Role in Our Lives as Africans

 

A land known for its diversity in culture and traditions. The African continent consists of about 20% of the total world's land mass with a population of about 934 million people. Quite a number!
 
The diversity in African music is revealed in the different genres which include juju, Fuji, highlife, makossa, kizomba, afrobeat etc. The African diasporas also influenced the diversity in African music introducing American music like dixieland, jazz, blues, and many Carribean genres such as Calypso, and soca. The Latin American music genres such as zouk, bomba, conga, rumba, son cubano, salsa music and samba which were founded on the music of enslaved Africans also influenced the African popular music.
 
Music also reveals the diversity in Africa. Although the diversity in African music is present, there are common elements to music between groups, especially within regions.
 
Some notable African musicians are; Blessed Paul, Cash B, Jay Nuclear, Rekless, G-Youts (Washu B and Nicki Mulla), Sleek Whizz, Chizei, Fela Kuti, Tony Allen, Miriam Makeba among others.

    In fact, music is involved in every aspect of life; indeed music is life!

    Below are some of the roles music plays in our lives as Africans!

1. Expression of stories and lives: Most African music mark the most important moments in the lives of the musicians, revealing their thoughts on how important their experiences are and the impact they played on their lives.

2. Improvement of relationship amongst people of separate communities: African music provides a platform which brings people together, irrespective of their differences. This, in turn, helps people to support each other and work towards achieving mutual health and prosperous lives.

3. Enhancement of communication:  Communication among Africans is not limited to exchange of words, rather it involves almost all the parts of the body, particularly the eyes, feet and so on.

     In the absence of exchange of words, music offers a mode of communication through talking drums, signal drums, songs. In fact, the sagas of the historian giants offers different types of important informations and lessons. Also, it communicates intrapersonal and intercultural connections.

4. Utilitarianism: It describes the usefulness of African music, African music is much more than a mere song! It is adopted in vital aspects of life such as child's naming ceremony, initiation rites, agricultural activities, national ceremonies, burial ceremonies, war rites and religious ceremonies etc.

Let's take a moment to think about the greatest African musicians that have walked amongst us, from the likes of Fela and Femi Kuti to Miriam Makeba our mama Africa, these great people have succeeded in not only putting joy in our hearts but also a spring in our steps.

Music, in general, plays a very vital role in our lives, ranging from the notifications on our phones, the intro of our favourite series down to the catchy nursery rhymes we sing to our children, we haven't had a more reliable companion. If you think about it, there is nothing we don't use music for.  There are so many ways that music plays an important role

• music helps us to celebrate one another be it birthdays or weddings, showers or funerals.

• it keeps us connected with our emotions, we listen to sad music when we want to cry, groovy music when we are happy and worship songs when we want to connect with God.

But what baffles me most about music is the fact that it evolves with us, it is essential to our growth as humans. There is so much history in music, it not only grows with us but teaches us too. There was a time when our bata drums and shekere told us stories, a time when the flute and the gong made women and children dance with resilience and yes they still do but with a modern twist.

Yes, our music has progressed but the stories remain, behind every beat or melody there is a story, with every tune there is a memory, I just hope we don't forget to listen. Music has taught us and is still teaching us about our history not just as Africans but as humans and I think it's important that we remind ourselves daily to play that song and dance.