Functions of the Standard Pattern in Naija Hip-hop Musical Syncretism

Syncretism is said to be in effect when different phenomena across diverse spheres interplay. Nigerian hip-hop music (also colloquially referred to as Naija hip-hop) is Nigeria's local adaptation of the global hip-hop genre. This paper investigates the functions of the standard pattern (a traditional African rhythmic pattern) in Naija hip-hop musical syncretism. The purposive sampling method was employed in selecting three popular music of this genre, which constitutes the primary data for this study. The theories of formalism and semiotics were adopted as the theoretical pilots for this study. As a corollary to the analyses of the music being studied, finding was that the standard pattern being a prominent feature of Naija hip-hop has varying forms of rhythmic and aesthetic functions, which establishes the unique musical identity for Naija hip-hop. The paper concludes that the ontological validity of Naija hip-hop as a distinctive brand of global hip-hop music is associated with the effective deployment of traditional musical elements, of which the standard pattern is a prominent part.