Rhythmic Rhetoric: Analyzing Linguistic Subversion in Nigerian Hip-hop’s Portrayal of Internet Scam

Abstract

Nigerian hip-hop artists utilize linguistic techniques to navigate cultural and societal boundaries. While past research on Nigerian hip-hop has delved into its use of English variations, portrayal of women, and the framing of identities and beliefs, there has been limited exploration of the language’s role in depicting internet fraud. This study adopts an applied linguistic lens and an interdisciplinary methodology to analyze the portrayal of internet fraud in tracks by six renowned Nigerian hip-hop artists: Okafor Golden Chinedu (X Busta), Mikel Mint (Jupitar), Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie (Patoranking), Babatunde Olusegun Adewale (Modenine), Abolore Adegbola Akande (9ice), and Olumide Edwards Adegbulu (Olu Maintain). Drawing from the principles of Moral Disengagement and Lexical Semantics, the research elucidates how these artists linguistically navigate societal norms when addressing theme of internet fraud.