• Ijah, Isomgboawaji Ruth Ntente
• Ihejirika, Walter C.
• Mbazie, Sunny C. J.

Sex, violence, drugs and alcohol are among the popular antisocial themes portrayed in hip-hop music and music videos. They are antisocial given that they are portrayed in manners that go against the Nigerian society’s moral virtues. These themes are portrayed through subliminal signs and sign systems thereby prompting the need for their investigation. This study aims at investigating the connotative signs and sign systems used in portraying themes of sex, violence, drugs and alcohol in globally popular hip-hop music videos. The hip-hop songs used in this study were collected from Billboard Year-End Charts of 2017 and 2018 and their respective music videos pulled from YouTube. Focus group discussion was adopted in carrying out this study. There were two sessions with 7 participants each. Participants included music broadcast journalists, heavy music video consumers, social media experts, hip-hop artistes and music video producers. Results revealed that certain foods, objects, colours, gestures and animals are some sign systems that portray sex, violence, drugs and alcohol in hip-hop music videos. it was therefore recommended that parents and guardians be educated to regulate the consumption of these music videos by their children/wards who are under 18 years of age.

music videos, hip-hop, themes, antisocial, sign, sign system, connotation

"CONNOTATION OF SEX, VIOLENCE, DRUGS AND ALCOHOL THEMES IN MUSIC VIDEOS OF BILLBOARD’S TOP HIP-HOP SONGS", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 4, page no.776-786, April-2021, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2104305.pdf

"CONNOTATION OF SEX, VIOLENCE, DRUGS AND ALCOHOL THEMES IN MUSIC VIDEOS OF BILLBOARD’S TOP HIP-HOP SONGS", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 4, page no. pp776-786, April-2021, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2104305.pdf