1.
Jos
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Jos is a city in the Middle Belt of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census, popularly called J-town, it is the administrative capital of Plateau State. The city is located on the Jos Plateau at an elevation of about 1,238 metres or 4,062 feet high above sea level, during British colonial rule, Jos was an important centre for tin mining. In recent years it has suffered violent religious clashes between its Muslim and Christian populations in 2001,2008,2010, and 2011, one of the major schools in Jos is Maygo High School. The earliest known settlers of the land that would come to be known as Nigeria were the Nok people, according to the historian Sen Luka Gwom Zangabadt, the area known as Jos today was inhabited by indigenous ethnic groups who were mostly farmers. According to Billy J. Dudley, the British colonialists used direct rule for the ethnic groups on the Jos plateau since they were not under the Fulani emirates where indirect rule was used. According to the historian Samuel N Nwabara, the Fulani empire controlled most of northern Nigeria, except the Plateau province and the Berom, Mwaghavul, Ngas, Tiv, Jukun and Idoma ethnic groups. It was the discovery of tin by the British that led to the influx of ethnic groups such as the Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba. Another version was that Jos came from the word Jasad meaning body, to distinguish it from the hill tops, it was called Jas, which was mis-pronounced by the British as Jos. It grew rapidly after the British discovered vast tin deposits in the vicinity, both tin and columbite were extensively mined in the area up until the 1960s. They were transported by railway to both Port Harcourt and Lagos on the coast, then exported from those ports, Jos is still often referred to as Tin City. In 1967 it was capital of Benue-Plateau State, becoming the capital of the new Plateau State in 1975. Jos has become an important national administrative, commercial, and tourist centre, Tin mining has led to the influx of migrants, mostly Igbos, Yorubas and Europeans, who constitute more than half of the population of Jos. This melting pot of race, ethnicity and religion makes Jos one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Nigeria, for this reason, Plateau State is known in Nigeria as the home of peace and tourism. Despite this, in 2001, the city witnessed violent riots between the divided Muslim and Christian populations, in several thousand people died. In 2004, the governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, was suspended for six months for failing to control the violence. In November 2008, clashes between Christians and Muslims killed almost 400 and wounded many, in spite of the communal clashes, visitors are surprised at the amount of activities still going on in the city. There is still an influx of people into the city and the cost of accommodation and this shows that the city is still one of the most desirable cities in Nigeria, despite the communal clashes
2.
Plateau State
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Plateau is the twelfth largest state of Nigeria, and is located approximately in the center of the country. It is geographically unique in Nigeria because its boundaries surround the Jos Plateau, having the entire plateau in its central, Plateau State is celebrated as The Home of Peace and Tourism, an image that has been fractured in recent years by Muslim-Christian clashes in the state. Plateau State gets its name from the Jos Plateau and it has a population of around 3.5 million people. Bauchi State – to the north east Kaduna State – to the north west Nasarawa State – to the south west Taraba State – to the south east Plateau State is located in Nigeria’s middle belt. With an area of 26,899 square kilometres, the State has an population of about three million people. It is located between latitude 08°24N and longitude 008°32 and 010°38 east, the state is named after the picturesque Jos Plateau, a mountainous area in the north of the state with captivating rock formations. Bare rocks are scattered across the grasslands, which cover the plateau, the altitude ranges from around 1,200 meters to a peak of 1,829 metres above sea level in the Shere Hills range near Jos. Years of tin mining have also left the area strewn with deep gorges and lakes, though situated in the tropical zone, a higher altitude means that Plateau State has a near temperate climate with an average temperature of between 18 and 22 °C. Harmattan winds cause the coldest weather between December and February, the warmest temperatures usually occur in the dry season months of March and April. The mean annual rainfall varies 131.75 cm in the part to 146 cm on the Plateau. The highest rainfall is recorded during the wet months of July. The average lower temperatures Plateau State has led to an incidence of some tropical diseases such as malaria. The Jos Plateau, makes it the source of rivers in northern Nigeria including the Kaduna, Gongola, Hadejia. The Jos Plateau is thought to be an area of granite which was intruded through an area of older granite rock. These younger granites are thought to be about 160 million years old and this creates the unusual scenery of the Jos Plateau. There are numerous hillocks with gentle slopes emerging from the ground like mushrooms scattered with huge boulders, also volcanic activity 50 million years ago created numerous volcanoes and vast basaltic plateaus created from lava flows. This also produces regions of mainly narrow and deep valleys and pediments from the middle of rounded hills with sheer rock faces. The phases of volcanic activities involved in the formation of Plateau State have made it one of the mineral rich states in the country. Tin is still mined and processed on the plateau
3.
Neo soul
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Neo soul is a genre of popular music. The term was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music emerged from soul. It has been noted by writers for its traditional R&B influences, conscious-driven lyrics. Neo soul developed during the 1980s and early 1990s, in the United States and United Kingdom and it earned mainstream success during the 1990s, with the commercial and critical breakthroughs of several artists, including DAngelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell. Their music was marketed as an alternative to the producer-driven, digitally approached R&B of the time and its mainstream presence declined during the 2000s, although newer artists emerged through more independent means of marketing their music. According to music journalist Mark Anthony Neal, neo-soul and its various incarnations has helped to redefine the boundaries, the success of DAngelos 1995 debut album Brown Sugar has been regarded by several writers and music critics as inspiration behind the terms origin. In a 2002 interview for Billboard, Massenburg said that genre classifications are often unpopular because they may be suggestive of a short-lived trend. However, although he said neo soul is still essentially soul music, neo-soul artists tried to look both backward and forward, acting in the belief that a continuum might exist. Despite some ambivalence from artists, the term received widespread use by music critics and writers who wrote about artists, African American studies professor Mark Anthony Neal has described neo soul as everything from avant-garde R&B to organic soul. A product of trying to something outside of the norm in R&B. They also infuse jazz, funk, and African musical elements into R&B, noting that most of the genres artists are singer-songwriters, writers have viewed their lyrical content as more conscious-driven and having a broader range than most other R&B artists. AllMusic calls it roughly analogous to contemporary R&B, dimitri Ehrlich of Vibe said that they emphasize a mix of elegant, jazz-tinged R&B and subdued hip hop, with a highly idiosyncratic, deeply personal approach to love and politics. Music writers have noted that neo soul artists are predominantly female, jason Anderson of CBC News called neo soul a sinuous, sly yet unabashedly earnest alternative and kind of haven for listeners turned off by the hedonism of mainstream hip-hop and club jams. Neo soul artists are associated with alternative lifestyles and fashions, including organic food, incense. In a 1998 article on neo soul, Time journalist Christopher John Farley wrote that such as Hill, DAngelo. Neo soul artists during the 1990s were heavily inspired by the sound and mellow instrumentation of Gil Scott-Herons. All About Jazz cited Jackson as one of the architects of the sound. Neo soul originated in the 1980s and early 1990s, with the work of acts such as Prince
4.
Alternative R&B
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Alternative R&B is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B. Alternative R&B was once used by the industry during the late 1990s to market neo soul artists, such as DAngelo, Erykah Badu. There has been a variety of discussion about the differing genre terms, the term hipster R&B has been commonly used, as has the term PBR&B—a combination of PBR and R&B. The first use of PBR&B was on Twitter by Sound of the City writer Eric Harvey on a March 22,2011 post, three years later, amazed and distressed at how far the term—meant as a joke—had traveled, Harvey wrote an extensive essay about it for Pitchfork. The genre has sometimes been called noir&B, however, the terms are often criticized for pigeonholing artists into hipster subculture and being used in a derisive manner. Brandon Neasman of The Grio observes a changing of the guard in R&B, from the smooth, cool heartthrobs to these vulnerable, additionally, for the most part, it doesnt feel as if these artists are selling sex as their main entrée. Granted, they sing about the topic, and in explicit detail. You don’t get that same diversity in subject matter from the majority of modern R&B singers, hermione Hoby of The Guardian writes that the music is quietly radical and observes an ongoing, mutually enriching dialogue between indie and electronic musicians and R&B artists. Gerrick D. Kennedy of the Los Angeles Times feels that the new movement feels like the most significant stylistic change in R&B since neo soul rolled around in the 1990s, janet Jacksons sixth studio album The Velvet Rope is cited as one the genres stylistic origins. Frank Ocean states that he does not like being called an R&B musician, how to Dress Well was not offended by the term PBR&B, but found it tacky. Miguel has said that he is comfortable with the term indie R&B because it insinuates a higher art, or a deeper or somehow more artistic delivery of rhythm and blues music. It suggests theres more artistry within a genre that has more of a cliche of itself. Eric Harvey, the writer who coined the term, wrote a response to its proliferation. FKA Twigs does not like the term, she told The Guardian Fuck alternative R&B. She finds the term racially charged, When I first released music and no one knew what I looked like, I would read comments like, Ive never heard anything like this before, and then my picture came out six months later, now shes an R&B singer. Stereogum described the genre as a fad that reached its point in early 2014. List of alternative R&B artists Hipster hop Neo soul Abebe, Nitsuh, PBR&B – A subgenre is born. Love vs. Money, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, and R&Bs Future Shock
5.
Singer-songwriter
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Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose, and perform their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. The genre began with the folk-acoustic tradition, singer-songwriters often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano. Singer-songwriter is used to define popular music artists who write and perform their own material, such an artist performs the roles of composer, lyricist, vocalist, instrumentalist, and often self-manager. Most records by artists have a similarly straightforward and spare sound that placed emphasis on the song itself. The term has also used to describe songwriters in the rock, folk, and pop music genres including Henry Russell, Aristide Bruant, Hank Williams. Song topics include political protest, as in the case of the Almanac Singers, Pete Seeger, the concept of a singer-songwriter can be traced to ancient bardic oral tradition, which has existed in various forms throughout the world. Poems would be performed as chant or song, sometimes accompanied by a harp or other similar instrument, after the invention of printing, songs would be written and performed by ballad sellers. Usually these would be versions of existing tunes and lyrics, which were constantly evolving and this developed into the singer-songwriting traditions of folk culture. The term singer-songwriter in North America can be traced back to singers who developed works in the blues and folk music style. Early to mid-20th century American singer-songwriters include Lead Belly, Jimmie Rodgers, Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker, Blind Willie McTell, Lightnin Hopkins, Son House, the tradition of writing topical songs was established by this group of musicians. This focus on social issues has greatly influenced the singer-songwriter genre, artists who had been primarily songwriters, notably Carole King, Townes Van Zandt, and Neil Diamond, also began releasing work as performers. In contrast to the approach of most prior country and folk music. The adjectives confessional and sensitive were often used singer-songwriter style, in the rock band era, members were not technically singer-songwriters as solo acts. However, many were singer-songwriters who created songs with band members. Many others like Eric Clapton found success as singer-songwriters in their later careers, there were hints of cross-pollination, but rock and folk music had remained largely separate genres, often with different audiences. An early attempt at fusing elements of folk and rock was highlighted in the Animals House of the Rising Sun, dylan plugged an entire generation into the milieu of the singer-songwriter. In the mid- to late 1960s, bands and singer-songwriters began to proliferate the underground New York art/music scene. Lotti Golden, in her Atlantic debut album Motor-Cycle, chronicled her life in NYCs East Village in the late 60s counterculture, visiting subjects such as gender identity, kate Bush remained distinctive throughout with her idiosyncratic style
6.
Vocal
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The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary sound source. Generally speaking, the mechanism for generating the human voice can be subdivided into three parts, the lungs, the vocal folds within the larynx, and the articulators, the lung must produce adequate airflow and air pressure to vibrate vocal folds. The vocal folds are a vibrating valve that chops up the airflow from the lungs into audible pulses that form the sound source. The muscles of the larynx adjust the length and tension of the folds to ‘fine-tune’ pitch. The articulators articulate and filter the sound emanating from the larynx, the vocal folds, in combination with the articulators, are capable of producing highly intricate arrays of sound. The tone of voice may be modulated to suggest emotions such as anger, surprise, singers use the human voice as an instrument for creating music. Adult men and women typically have different sizes of vocal fold, adult male voices are usually lower-pitched and have larger folds. The male vocal folds, are between 17 mm and 25 mm in length, the female vocal folds are between 12.5 mm and 17.5 mm in length. The folds are within the larynx and they are attached at the back to the arytenoids cartilages, and at the front to the thyroid cartilage. They have no outer edge as they blend into the side of the tube while their inner edges or margins are free to vibrate. They have a three layer construction of an epithelium, vocal ligament, then muscle, which can shorten and they are flat triangular bands and are pearly white in color. Above both sides of the cord is the vestibular fold or false vocal cord, which has a small sac between its two folds. The difference in vocal folds size between men and women means that they have differently pitched voices, additionally, genetics also causes variances amongst the same sex, with mens and womens singing voices being categorized into types. For example, among men, there are bass, baritone, tenor and countertenor, there are additional categories for operatic voices, see voice type. This is not the source of difference between male and female voice. Men, generally speaking, have a vocal tract, which essentially gives the resultant voice a lower-sounding timbre. This is mostly independent of the folds themselves
7.
Nigeria
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Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. It comprises 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Nigeria is officially a democratic secular country. Modern-day Nigeria has been the site of numerous kingdoms and tribal states over the millennia, the modern state originated from British colonial rule beginning in the 19th century, and the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures whilst practising indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms, Nigeria became a formally independent federation in 1960, and plunged into a civil war from 1967 to 1970. Nigeria is often referred to as the Giant of Africa, owing to its large population, with approximately 184 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. Nigeria has one of the largest populations of youth in the world, Nigeria is divided roughly in half between Christians, who live mostly in the southern part of the country, and Muslims in the northern part. A minority of the population practise religions indigenous to Nigeria, such as native to the Igbo. As of 2015, Nigeria is the worlds 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and it overtook South Africa to become Africas largest economy in 2014. The 2013 debt-to-GDP ratio was 11 percent, Nigeria is a member of the MINT group of countries, which are widely seen as the globes next BRIC-like economies. It is also listed among the Next Eleven economies set to become among the biggest in the world, Nigeria is a founding member of the African Union and a member of many other international organizations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations and OPEC. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country and this name was coined in the late 19th century by British journalist Flora Shaw, who later married Lord Lugard, a British colonial administrator. The origin of the name Niger, which applied only to the middle reaches of the Niger River, is uncertain. The word is likely an alteration of the Tuareg name egerew n-igerewen used by inhabitants along the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu prior to 19th-century European colonialism. The Nok civilisation of Northern Nigeria flourished between 500 BC and AD200, producing life-sized terracotta figures which are some of the earliest known sculptures in Sub-Saharan Africa, further north, the cities Kano and Katsina have a recorded history dating to around 999 AD. Hausa kingdoms and the Kanem-Bornu Empire prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa, the Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people consolidated in the 10th century and continued until it lost its sovereignty to the British in 1911. Nri was ruled by the Eze Nri, and the city of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture, Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umeuri clan. Members of the clan trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure Eri, in West Africa, the oldest bronzes made using the lost-wax process were from Igbo Ukwu, a city under Nri influence. The Yoruba kingdoms of Ife and Oyo in southwestern Nigeria became prominent in the 12th and 14th centuries, the oldest signs of human settlement at Ifes current site date back to the 9th century, and its material culture includes terracotta and bronze figures
