Political Economy of Contemporary African Popular Culture

Kealeboga Aiseng is senior lecturer in the journalism and media studies department at Rhodes University.Israel A. Fadipe is lecturer in the faculty of communication and media studies at Ajayi Crowther University.Phillip Mpofu is researcher at North West University.

• Introduction: The Interplay between Politics and African Popular CulturePart 1: Politics, Political Economy, and SocietyChapter One: Promoting Political Participation and Accountability through Popular Culture: A Study on Women and Community Radio in Northern GhanaChapter Two: African Humanism, Liberal Populism, and the Politics of Antiblack CultureChapter Three: Contextualizing Chronicle’s Construction of Cont Mhlanga’s ‘Heroism’: Arts, Politics, and Ethnicity NexusChapter Four: Political Godfatherism, Propaganda, and the Media in the Nigerian Political Scene: A Study of ‘Oba’ in King of BoysChapter Five: ‘Tsotsitaal,’ the Commodification of Language by South Africa’s Main Political Parties During Election Campaign AdvertisementsPart 2: Entertainment Industry, Sports, Political Economy, and SocietyChapter Six: Influence of Hip-Hop Culture and Music Videos on Students Living in South African Private Mixed Residences: A Case StudyChapter Seven: Imperialist Allusions in Debo Adedayo’s Elizabeth the TerminatorChapter Eight: A Survey of Nigerian Youths on Political Participation and Political Apathy: A Case Study of Kemi Adetiba’s King of BoysChapter Nine: “Divided in Nigeria, United by Football”: An Exploration of Football Fandom Culture as a Motivating Factor for Communication and Unity among Nigerian YouthsChapter Ten: Comparative Political-Economic Case-Evaluation of Benue Musicians amidst Politically-Hyped Western Digital Musical-ArtistryChapter Eleven: ‘Eat or Be Eaten’: Cannibalism-Political Economy Nexus in African Football News ReportsChapter Twelve: ‘What Scares me is what scares you’: Producing Commercially Viable South African Horror Films for Local and International Target AudiencesPart 3: Digital Media, Political Economy, and SocietyChapter Thirteen: The Political Economy of New Media in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: Insights from #Nigeria Twitter BanChapter Fourteen: The Political Economy of Digital and Social Media Influencer Marketing: A Reception Analysis of Coca-Cola’s Digital Marketing among Young Adult NigeriansChapter Fifteen: Realist or Chauvinist? A Critique of Tawona Shadaya Knight’s Tweets Concerning Objectification of WomenChapter Sixteen: Weaponizing Political Rhetoric to Galvanise Voters’ Support on the Twitterscape: Case Study of Contentious Political Spheres in South Africa and NigeriaPart 4: Fake News, Crime, Political Economy, and SocietyChapter Seventeen: Fake News and Misinformation and Their Impacts on Public Perceptions of Reality in Kenya: A Literature ReviewChapter Eighteen: New Wine Versus Old Wine: Internet Praxis Begets New Social Reality of Power Relations between the Young and the Old in the Swedru MunicipalityChapter Nineteen: Mobile Phones as ‘Engine Boat’ of Political Economy of the Media: A Study across Print Media in Lagos, NigeriaConclusion: The Political Economy of Popular African Culture in the Information Age: Some Thoughts

African popular culture runs through the continent’s heart in its apprehensions, joys, aspirations, and fragilities. Essays in this volume not only draw on a range of art forms to buttress these aspects, but also drive home the altruism of the producers whose insightfulness render complex phenomena in accessible formats and in that way educate Africa left behind by the forward march of capitalism.