Abstract:
A popular opinion held by the pioneer academic musicians is that such virtues as moral uprightness, rectitude, probity, decency, sincerity, and candour are clearly unpopular with the professional popular musician. Dismissing further the socio-cultural integrity of the popular musician, the academia has argued that the popular musical art is the domain of illicit sex, unwanted pregnancies, unhappiness, broken homes and relationships, and inhuman desires. To the contrary, however, this study, combining the empirical and the theoretical research methods, discovered that many Nigerian popular musicians have, at one time or the other, been invested with prestigious international and national honours, in recognition of their contributions to the society as cultural ambassadors of the nation. The contributions of E. C. Arinze, a pioneering exponent of the highlife popular genre, is hereby discussed as a star feature in portraying the socio-cultural integrity of the Nigerian popular music.
