| dc.description.abstract | This study examined how Ronald Ontiri Onchuru, popularly known as Bikundo, deploys
style to foreground particular thematic concerns in his popular music. Bikundo is one of
the popular musicians among the Abagusii of western Kenya. The study was premised on
the understanding that style is one of the tools available to creative artistes in articulating
issues affecting their society. Consequently, it sought to analyse various features of style
in Bikundo’s popular music and how they are used to bring out diverse thematic concerns
in the music. The analysis was guided by the tenets of semiotics and sociological theories
and was delimited to the analysis of Bikundo’s purposively sampled popular songs.
Semiotics theory formed the bedrock of the study and helped in examining how aspects
of style in Bikundo’s music articulate particular meanings in the songs. Sociological
theory helped to show how Bikundo relied on context in foregrounding particular
thematic concerns in his songs and how the songs applied to society. The study revealed
that Bikundo uses various styles such as metaphor, symbolism, personification and
idiomatic expressions to foreground themes such as HIV/AIDS, hardwork, poverty, and
love. Through his popular music, Bikundo advocates for society which has a high regard
for its morality, social cohesion and socio-economic empowerment. | en_US |
