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ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jla.2026.12.001

Falz’s Hip Hop Activism: A Philosophical Ideology of Marxist Critique of Nigerian Society

Idowu James Adekunle1,*, Eniola Rachel Ogundipe2

1Department of English, University of Ibadan, Oyo State 200005, Nigeria.

2Department of English & Literary Studies, KolaDaisi University, Km 18, Ibadan, Oyo State 200005, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author: Idowu James Adekunle

Published: March 19,2026

Abstract

This study investigates how the Hip Hop music of Falz articulates Marxist critiques of class struggle, alienation, corruption, and economic inequality in contemporary Nigerian society. Employing a qualitative and interpretive approach, the research undertakes close textual and contextual analyses of four purposively selected live-recorded songs: This Is Nigeria, E No Finish, Talk, and Hypocrite. They were purposively chosen because of the unique way they explicit so-cioeconomic and political decadence in Nigeria. The analysis focuses on identifying the Marxist ideological structures embedded in Falz’s lyrical constructions and performance strategies, and on situating these within Nigeria’s broader political economy marked by capitalism, state dysfunction, and systemic inequality. The study contends that Falz mobilizes Hip Hop as a form of philosophical engagement and cultural resistance, transforming popular music into a vehicle for ideological critique. It contributes to scholarship on African Hip Hop by fore-grounding its role as a dynamic site of political consciousness, social interrogation, and postcolonial cultural production.

Keywords

Marxism; Nigerian Hip Hop; Falz; Philosophical analysis; Social commentary

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How to cite this paper

Falz’s Hip Hop Activism: A Philosophical Ideology of Marxist Critique of Nigerian Society

How to cite this paper: Idowu James Adekunle, Eniola Rachel Ogundipe. (2026). Falz’s Hip Hop Activism: A Philosophical Ideology of Marxist Critique of Nigerian Society. Journal of Literature Advances3(2), 1-9.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jla.2026.12.001