Love and Marriage In Ghanaian Hip-Life Songs: A Sociological Analysis of Obrafour’sPimpinaa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63772/jocmas.v11n1.2Keywords:
intimate partnerships, Ghanaian music, sociological analysis, marriage, love, hiplifeAbstract
Irrespective of the genre, music has long been an art of communication. Among other things, love and intimate relationships are significant themes in the lyrics of many songs. The dynamics of these are, however, different across societies and cultures. In this paper, we focus on the Ghanaian hiplife song, Pimpinaa. From a qualitative research perspective, we used a thematic approach to analyse the song's lyrics. Four thematic areas came up – marriage as a better option to concubinage, family consent and involvement as prerequisites to marriage, the Christianisation and Westernisation of marriage, and the emphasis on the chastity of the Ghanaian women – all of which are social realities in Ghana. These themes were discussed with relevant literature to demonstrate how they play out in the Ghanaian socio-cultural context. We conclude that though as a song, Pimpinaa was probably meant primarily for entertainment, it is also a sociological enterprise as it seeks to unearth aspects of the patterns of social interaction in Ghana. Specifically, it speaks to the institutions of marriage and family which are fundamental in society.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rosemary Obeng-Hinneh, Daniel Obeng Acquah (Author)
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