CV
Past. Present. Future.
Education
2019– Ph.D., University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, Musicology
Dissertation: “Community Making Across the Black Diaspora: Building Networks and Narratives in Nigerian Urban Popular Music”
August 2025
Committee: Stefan Fiol (chair), Shelina Brown, Joseph Takougang, Scott Linford
2015–2017 M.M., University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Music Theory and Composition
Thesis: “Encumbered Existence: A Three Movement Work for Jazz Orchestra”
Thesis Committee: Dr. Quincy Hilliard (advisor), Dr. Mark DeWitt, Dr. Jonathan Kulp
2011–2015 B.A., Bellarmine University, Music with an Emphasis in Jazz
Conference Papers
2025 “Centers of Diaspora in the U.S. Midwest: Afro Nation Detroit 2023 and 2024.” Society for American Music 51st Annual Conference, March 2025, Tacoma, Washington.
2024 “Translating Lagos: Multilingual Songwriting in Nigerian Rap.” Translating the Field: Music, Power, Praxis Symposium (virtual presentation), September 2024, Austin, Texas.
2023 “Cycles of Colonization: Contextualizing Billboard’s U.S. Afrobeats Chart.” International Association for the Study of Popular Music, June 2023, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
2022 “Musicking Trans-local Community: Linking the Physical and Digital in Nigerian Hip-Hop.” Boundaries, Borderlands, and Belonging Symposium (virtual presentation), September 2022, Graz, Austria.
2022 “The Beat Switch: Analyzing Rap Production Techniques.” Theorizing African American Music, June 2022, Cleveland, Ohio.
2022 “The New Live Concert: Instagram Live Battles as a Virtual Music Scene in a Global Pandemic.” Biennial meeting of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (virtual presentation), July 2022, Daegu, South Korea.
2020 “Locality and Trans-Locality in African Hip Hop: Examining Cultural Transmission and Identity Formation in Senegalese and Nigerian Hip Hop Scenes.” Annual meeting of the African Studies Association (virtual presentation), November 2020.
2016 “Music of West Africa and African Diaspora: A Comparison of Traditions.” 10th International Ethnomusicology Symposium at the University of Dar es Salaam, July 2016, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Publications
2025 Book Chapter, “Translating Lagos: Multilingual Songwriting in Nigerian Rap” in Translating the Field: Music, Power, Praxis, edited by Michael Iyanaga, Nancy Rao, and Susan Thomas. (Forthcoming).
2024 Journal Article, “Reflections on Empire: Positionality, Global Capitalism, and the Consequences of Ethnography”, in Rising Voices in Ethnomusicology issue 20.2.
2020 Book Review, Music, Indigeneity, Digital Media edited by Thomas R. Hilder, Henry Stobart, and Shzr E Tan, in Music Research Forum vol. 34
Honors and Awards
2024-2025 The Graduate College Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship
2023 Fulbright U.S. Student Grant (Nigeria)
2021-2022 Future of Music Faculty Fellowship, Cleveland Institute of Music
2019–present Albert C. Yates Fellowship, University of Cincinnati, CCM
2019–present Musicology Program Merit Award, University of Cincinnati, CCM
2017 Black Faculty and Staff Association Black Student Achievement Award, University of Louisiana-Lafayette
2012 Dean’s List, Bellarmine University
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Compositions and Creative Activity
2015 “Into the Wild” for piano, violin, viola, and cello
2016 Brass Trio No. 1, Movement 2
2017 “Encumbered Existence: A Three Movement Work for Jazz Orchestra”
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Teaching Experience
Spring 2023 Teaching Assistant, “Musician in Society”
Fall 2022 Teaching Assistant, “Musicology III”
Spring 2022 Teaching Assistant, “Graduate Research and Writing”
Fall 2021 Teaching Assistant, “Communication and Research for Todays Musician”
Spring 2021 Teaching Assistant, “Music History II (Baroque and Classical)”
Fall 2020 Teaching Assistant, “Music History and Repertory (Music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance”
Spring 2020 Teaching Assistant, “Musician in Society”
Fall 2019 Teaching Assistant, “Music History III (1800-Present)”
Fall 2016 Teaching Assistant, “Music Theory II”
Spring 2016 Teaching Assistant, “Music Theory I”​
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Invited Lectures
2023 “Yoruba Popular Music.” University of Iowa, March 10.
2023 “Yoruba Popular Music.” Bellarmine University, February 9.
2022 “Hip-Hop in Africa: Transnational Histories and a Cross-Cultural Perspective.” University of Cincinnati, CCM, February 17.
2022 “Yoruba Popular Music.” Bellarmine University, February 7.
2021 “The Problem with Theorizing African American Music.” Bellarmine University, March 3.
Professional Employment
2022-2023 Teaching Artist, Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Inc.
2019–2023 Teaching Assistant, University of Cincinnati, CCM
2017–2019 Warehouse Associate, E&R Industrial Sales
2015–2017 University Ombudsman, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
2016 Teaching Assistant, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Service
2024-2025 Society for American Music Diversity and Inclusion Committee
2023 National Humanities Alliance Advocate, Cincinnati
2022-2023 Ethnomusicology Faculty Search Committee, University of Cincinnati, CCM
2021 Peer Reviewer, Popular Music
2019-2023 Member, Music Research Forum Volume 36 Editorial Board, University of Cincinnati, CCM
2019–2022 Member and Communications Officer, Music Theory and Musicology Society, University of Cincinnati, CCM
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Languages
French: advanced reading, basic speaking and writing
Yoruba: beginner speaking and reading
Professional Memberships
Society for American Music
Society for Ethnomusicology
American Musicological Society
African Studies Association
International Association for the Study of Popular Music – U.S. Chapter
National Humanities Alliance
Music Theory and Musicology Society of the University of Cincinnati