2005/04/01 by Francis B. Nyamnjoh · 55 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Music History and Culture #African studies and sociopolitical issues #Race, History, and American Society #Politics #Power (physics) #Agency (philosophy) #Straddle #Identity (music) #Order (exchange) #Gender studies #Political repression #Sociology #Political science #Media studies #Aesthetics #Law #Social science #Art
paper · doi:10.1093/afraf/adi007
published in African Affairs 104(415), 251-274 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2005/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
This article examines the relationship between musicians and political power in Cameroon in order to make a case for understanding the dynamics of agency and identity politics among musicians. It argues that politicians in Cameroon have tended to appropriate musicians and their creative efforts as part of their drive for power. Some musicians have refused to be at the beck and call of politicians and have tended to criticize and ridicule those in power. Others have seen in such invitations an opportunity for greater recognition and respectability. Some have sought to straddle both worlds, serving politicians while also pursuing their art in the interest of other constituencies. Their different responses notwithstanding, there is evidence that the fortunes and statuses of musicians have been transformed with changing political regimes and notions of politics.