Genre and narrative in post lra "kwo jungle" music videos

Abstract

This study examined the music video phenomenon of Kwo Jungle through the lens of a genre approach. Kwo Jungle refers to a colloquial coinage of the English word jungle and the Acoli Kwo which means Life. It denotes survival of the fittest in a rough social-economic terrain. Locally it was derived from the tenets of the insurgency and is mostly exhibited in youth within townships. The study was based on music videos and songs of artists from northern Uganda produced after the LRA insurgency. The concept was subsequently adapted into mainstream aesthetics came to embody the trauma of the war as a conveyor of societal issues and, as a transformative metaphoric vehicle for emotional recovery and psychological healing from trauma of the LRA insurgency. The first chapter discussed the introduction including background data and, identified the research problem as well as the specific objectives. The significance of the study outlined the potential use of the information discovered and the general scholarly contribution it made to the knowledge on Kwo Jungle music videos. While the theoretical framework examined the study through the modus operandi of postmodernism. The study explored the time band, content width and geographical boundary in form of the scope and the literature review examined and identified existing gaps within the selected field of study. Finally, the hypothesis guided the study through the objectives and the methodology provided a detailed description of how the research was conducted. Chapter two explored the sources of expression, examined style and form of Kwo Jungle as well as the major themes. Chapter three oscillated between the myriad of patterns and variations exhibited within the genres of Afro beat, Hip hop and Reggae. While chapter four focused on how the songs reverberated from distinctive northern Uganda entertainment, to emotional and trauma therapy. The last chapter concluded with the analysis, observations and recommendations.