Overview
Chidubem Christian Onyekwelu is an ethnomusicologist researching African popular music. Focusing on Afrobeats, Nigerian music history, practices, and transnational cultural exchange, his work examines the intersection of music, identity, politics, and globalization, with particular interest in the historical development of African popular music, its global circulation, and connection with the African diaspora. He is committed to advancing the frontiers of Knowledge on African popular music through mixed research methods, drawing on archival research, ethnography, and interdisciplinary approaches. Chidubem obtained his B.A in Music and M.A in Music, Mass Media and Entertainment Industry, both from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is currently a PhD student in Music and Sound Studies at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA. His current research explores the transnational experience of Afrobeats, a contemporary trans-Atlantic African music, examining how it mediates encounters between historically distinct African diaspora communities in the United States.