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Ókpè Disco: Its Emergence and Performance Practice
Abstract
A neo-traditional popular music, Ókpè Disco is practised by the Ókpè people in the Ókpè and Sapÿlÿ Local Government Areas within Nigeria’s Delta State. It is a vocal music genre performed in solo/chorus responsorial style with the leader, assisted by the second lead singer, taking the solo while the other members of the group sing the chorus and play an instrumental accompaniment. The texts of the songs are sung either in Ókpè or in English, and they focus on current social issues. They include extensive praises for particular affluent members of the society.
Over time Ókpè Disco has borrowed from more cosmopolitan types of music found in other parts of Nigeria; these types include highlife, kokoma and gospel music. Western diatonic melodies and harmonies seldom feature in the music, while the harmonica and keyboard are included in few instrumental ensembles. Studio recordings of Ókpè Disco are available commercially and are regularly aired during Delta Broadcasting radio and television programmes.
South African Journal of Musicology Vol.22 2002: 13-27
Over time Ókpè Disco has borrowed from more cosmopolitan types of music found in other parts of Nigeria; these types include highlife, kokoma and gospel music. Western diatonic melodies and harmonies seldom feature in the music, while the harmonica and keyboard are included in few instrumental ensembles. Studio recordings of Ókpè Disco are available commercially and are regularly aired during Delta Broadcasting radio and television programmes.
South African Journal of Musicology Vol.22 2002: 13-27
