Chidera Faith Ejike

This study explores how structural, orientational, and ontological metaphors shape the expression of love, emotion, identity, and social experience in fifteen songs by Nigerian Afrobeat artist Davido. Using Lakoff and Johnson’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory (1980), the analysis shows that structural metaphors map emotions onto familiar experiences, orientational metaphors spatialize relationships, and ontological metaphors materialize feelings as physical entities. These metaphor types reveal Davido’s negotiation of love, power, vulnerability, and success within Nigerian culture. The study concludes that Davido’s metaphors perform both cognitive and cultural functions, allowing listeners to conceptualize complex emotions through embodied, culturally resonant imagery and advancing understanding of metaphor in African popular music.