A LEXICO-SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF SLANGY EXPRESSIONS IN SELECTED NIGERIAN HIP HOP SONGS

Author: Layo Olaluwoye

Published: March 2018

ABSTRACT

Nigerian Hip hop music is a steady source of slangy expressions. Existing studies on slang have examined students’ slang and slang used by drivers among others. However, these studies seem to have consistently neglected slangy expressions in the Nigerian Hip hop music. The present study, therefore, is a lexico-semantic analysis of slangy expressions in selected Nigerian Hip hop songs. Eight tracks of seven popular Nigerian Hip-Hop artistes: Ayo Balogun (aka Wizkid), OlamideAdedeji (aka Baddoo), OluwatobiWandeOjosipe (aka Wande Coal), OritsefemiMajemiteEkele (aka Oritsefemi), Douglas Jack Agu (aka Runtown), Seyi Shay, and Cynthia Morgan were purposively selected for analysis. The selected songs were played and listened to several times; slangy expressions in the songs were transcribed and analysed. Lexico- semantic tools such as coinages, affixation, and semantic extension are deployed deliberately by the selected artistes in their songs. The study reveals that slangy expressions are strategies for conveying artistes’ intentions and messages in the selected songs. These have serious implications for the use of English in Nigeria.

Keywords: artiste, hip-pop, lexico-semantic, music, slangy expression

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