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Yoruba Oral Literary Features and Cultural Aesthetics in Odolaye Aremun's Musical Repertoires

Odòlayé Aremun is among few of Nigeran Artists in the south west of Nigeria whose brand of music (dadakúàdà) extols cultural heritage of the Yorubá. Textual dexterity is an identifiable and astounding feature that avidly defines this exponent’s musical aesthetic. Despite this artistic exploits, explicit and comprehensive scholarly attention has not been engaged in that regard. Hence, it is the intention of this study to take a look at Odolaye’s musical repertoires with a bid to unfold diverse textual expressions embodied by his compositions and the impetus within the ambit of Yoruba culture and tradition. This study appropriated functional effectiveness, a theory postulated by Blacking (1973), which adduces choice of cultural criteria for composing African music to functionality. Audio tape containing Odolaye’s repertoires, in depth and key informant interviews were employed to amass information that are germane to the research. Descriptively, data gathered from the field were subjected to textual content analysis. Inferences from this study unveiled nuances of Odolaye’s tonal /dialectic inflection of Kwara, essentially, the Ilorin variant. The study further showcased a constellation of textual devices contrived by this artist in his compositions, spanning praise chant, tonal play, homage, metaphor, anaphora and proverb. In conclusion, this study ascertained Odolaye Aremun’s textual proficiency; an indefatigable input towards Yorùbá cultural sustainability within musical frame work.

keywords
Cultural
textual dexterity
heritage
musical aesthetic
musical aesthetic
Name of Author(s)
Adedayo Ezekiel Babatope
Page Range
120-137
Year of Publication
2026
Month of Publication
May
Volume
5
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120-137.pdf (794.22 KB)
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