Diasporic Belonging and the Musical Geographies of Nigerian Popular Music

In Nigerian popular music’s growth across international music industries, the experience of dancing, DJing, singing, and listening in Lagos becomes a central part of the musicking experience—embedding African identities and culture in the production of and diasporic engagement in the music. Grounding my analysis of the spatial, spiritual, and personal transfers that are produced through Nigerian popular musicking in theorizations of Black scale, Black geography, and Black spatial storylines, I assert Nigerian musical geographies are critical spaces of Black placemaking established through diasporic connection. First, I reflect on urban development projects on Lagos beaches and assess the goals of these construction projects through the lens of neocoloniality. Alongside tensions of colonial and capitalist expansion, the transformations of Lagos beaches disrupt histories of musical engagement on the Lagosian coast and reemphasize the significance of transmitting Nigerian popular music across the Black diaspora. Finally, I position Afro Nation Festivals and diasporic participation in Nigerian popular music as a process in preserving, reimagining, and remaking Nigerian musical geographies. Impressions of Lagosian space and expressions of being in Nigeria are often reinterpreted and replicated in other parts of the world. Therefore, the presentation and preservation of Nigerianness and Nigerian spaces offers an image of resistance against neocolonial forces lurking within the histories of the global music industry and the activities of political actors.