Performing ethnicity in Nollywood film music: the power of texted music1

Abstract The general assumption of this article is that ethnicity is constituted in both process and performance. The article discusses ethnicity in Nollywood film music by specifically examining the local film composers’ representative practice through which musical value and meaning are generated. The focus is on the interconnected and narrativised relationship of texted music (music with words) and the moving image. The article is based on an analysis of experiential data from the film Ekaette Goes to School, as well as on interviews and recordings to theorise ethnicity as both a discursive and performative phenomenon in one of Africa’s cinema traditions.