Conceptualising Success, Struggle, And Identity In Nigerian Afrobeats: Metaphorical Expressions In Asake's Lyrics
Auteurs : Afolabi Oluwole David .
Résumé
Abstract Nigerian Afrobeats provides a significant linguistic and cultural space for expressing contemporary experiences of aspiration, hardship, prosperity, and identity. This study examines how success, struggle, and identity are metaphorically conceptualised in three selected Asake songs: Awodi (2023), Suru (2024), and Gratitude (2026). Drawing on Conceptual Metaphor Theory, the study adopts a qualitative descriptive approach to identify metaphorical linguistic expressions, establish their source and target domains, and interpret their meanings within their linguistic and cultural contexts. The findings indicate that success is primarily conceptualised through upward movement, journey, progress, and divine favour, while struggle is represented through journey, survival, and suffering. Identity emerges through transformation, movement, and temporal contrast, particularly through representations of movement from past hardship towards achieved and anticipated success. The analysis further demonstrates that Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin, English, and religious expressions contribute culturally situated meanings to these metaphorical constructions. Across the songs, struggle, endurance, transformation, success, and gratitude form an interconnected conceptual network, although individual songs foreground these dimensions differently. The study demonstrates how Conceptual Metaphor Theory can illuminate the interaction between figurative language, cultural meaning, and identity construction in contemporary Nigerian popular music.
Mots clés
Keywords: Asake; Conceptual Metaphor Theory; identity; Nigerian Afrobeats; struggle; success
