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The increasing popularity of Western popular songs in English has made it transcendent and acceptable by persons with diverse socio-cultural worldviews. The popular song as a burgeoning social discourse has been instrumental in influencing behaviour, thus the attention by numerous studies on music, sexuality and violence among youths. The role of popular music in the creation of a female narrative that impinges on gender, power and ideology has not received as much attention. In addressing some of these, the book highlights the representation of the feminine in song lyrics focusing particularly on the enactment of self-defeatism by female artistes. The result shows that the female personae´s attempts to destroy patriarchal viewpoints end up creating false representations of feminine gender- making us conclude that the lyrics in essence re-enact macho-myths. Thus, the issues in this book should be enlightening to students of musicology and discourse studies as it may help them refocus on power and gender in music. It may also reveal the possibility that the female singer is an accomplice in the ratification of anti-feminine discourse and this can help feminist scholars rethink.

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Mohammed Laminu Mele, PhD. Lecturer in English, Semantics and Discourse Studies at the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria.

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