AFRICAN MUSIC AS A MODE OF REASONING EXPRESSION, REPRESENTATION, AND RESISTANCE IN SONIC PHILOSOPHY

Abstract

This paper examines African music within a broader African philosophical continuum, arguing that musical practice functions not merely as sound or artistic expression but as a form of philosophical engagement through which ontology, knowledge, humanistic values, and ethical resistance are articulated in lived, communal contexts. Utilising the insights of J. H. Kwabena Nketia, Kofi Agawu, Jude Onebunne, Ikechukwu Kanu, and Eunice Ibekwe, this study reconceptualises African music as a dynamic form of knowledge—an intellectual exploration articulated through sound. The initial segment elucidates music as a dynamic ontology, illustrating how rhythmic frameworks and ritualistic performances encapsulate metaphysical continuities among the human, spiritual, and cosmic domains. The second delves into music as a repository of cultural memory, serving as a moral archive that safeguards communal identity and values through the passage of generations and across diasporas. The third explores resistance through the lens of philosophy, scrutinising Afrobeat, Chimurenga, and South African struggle songs as decolonial expressions that transform rhythm into a form of ethical defiance. The fourth section juxtaposes academic frameworks to uncover the diverse African listening methodologies, subsequently transitioning to a contemplative examination of composition as a form of philosophical practice. This paper posits that the integration of theory and creative practice reveals that African music encapsulates the essence of life, intertwining existence, memory, and liberation through the medium of vibration. The conclusion drawn is that the future of African philosophy should integrate music not merely as a supplementary element to thought, but as a fundamental expression of it: a mode of reasoning that is experienced through sound, emotion, and existence.