Musical Messages

Abstract

This research analyzes the political content in Sudanese music. The aim is to scrutinize and interpret the meaning of such political content and to place it in a historical context of the country's post-independence history. The songs of some of Sudan's most respected musicians of the current era such as Mohamed Al Amin, Abdel Karim Al Kabli and Mohamed Wardi are examined. Guided by framing analysis, the study employs six framing devices: nationalist/patriotic, responsibility, loyalty/allegiance, assimilation, ethnocentric and superiority frame. The aim of the investigation is to deconstruct the content of nationalistic songs to fully appreciate the roles they play in both popular culture and in the political arena. Results suggest that Sudanese popular music is high in nationalistic/patriotic and loyalty/allegiance but low in assimilation content. Results also indicate that Sudan's post-independence history is rich with songs that reflect the country's political situation.