{"id":188498,"date":"2021-05-10T23:01:17","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T21:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/nigerian-hip-hop-lyrics-put-cybercrime-in-a-good-light\/"},"modified":"2021-05-10T23:01:17","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T21:01:17","slug":"nigerian-hip-hop-lyrics-put-cybercrime-in-a-good-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/nigerian-hip-hop-lyrics-put-cybercrime-in-a-good-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigerian hip hop lyrics put cybercrime in a good light"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Along with its many benefits, the internet has brought the world a new risk \u2013 cybercrime. Cybercrimes<\/a> are offences that intentionally harm victims in various ways using telecommunications networks. One report estimates<\/a> the global annual cost of cybercrime would reach US$6 trillion at the end of 2021. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a major problem in Nigeria too. About N127 billion or US$649 million<\/a> is lost annually to internet fraud, representing 0.08%<\/a> of the country\u2019s gross domestic product. This makes cybercrime a threat to foreign direct investment and the socio-economic development of the country.<\/p>\n

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Read more: Meet the \u2018Yahoo boys\u2019 \u2013 Nigeria’s undergraduate conmen<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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Researchers have previously examined the reasons that people \u2013 especially young people \u2013 get involved in cybercrimes. Corruption, poverty and unemployment have been cited<\/a>. But another aspect of the cultural context around cyber-criminality \u2013 and perhaps its attraction \u2013 is music.<\/p>\n

I looked at three Nigerian hip hop songs to see how the lyrics portray cybercrimes. My study<\/a> found that the lyrics present this criminality in positive ways. Hip hop musicians are influential in Nigerian society, especially among young people. They can both reflect and shape social realities. Their framing of behaviour can help us understand that behaviour better.<\/p>\n

Insights into the songs<\/h2>\n

The three songs I chose to look at were: Olu Maintain\u2019s Yahooze<\/a><\/em> (2007), Kelly Hansome\u2019s Maga Don Pay<\/a><\/em> (2008) and Abolore Adigun\u2019s Living Things<\/a><\/em> (2017). While Yahooze<\/em> represents the pioneer song which launched the slang term \u201cyahoo-yahoo\u201d<\/a> (for internet fraud in Nigeria), Maga Don Pay<\/em> represents a middle range song and Living Thing<\/em> is more contemporary. These represent something of a evolution of cybercrime glamorisation songs and are popular. All of these songs glamorise and justify cybercrime. The lyrics show it as a \u201cway out of suffering\u201d, a \u201cgame\u201d, or \u201cwork\u201d, with huge material benefits, rather than as a crime.<\/p>\n