Gospel A ̀ pa ̀ la ̀ music in African Christian worship: Thematic and stylistic analysis

adoration to God, salvation/acknowledging Jesus, God’s greatness and miracles, forgiveness, unity, holiness, heaven, love among brethren, commitment, and dedication to God’s work. My findings reveal, among others, that Gospel A ̀ pa ̀ la ̀ music encapsulates indigenous knowledge contained in oral literature. I identify stylistic devices such as repetition, rhetorical question, personification, loan words, code-mixing/code-switching, and proverbs which garnish the metamorphosed music and conclude that A ̀ pa ̀ la ̀ has metamorphosed from traditional A ̀ pa ̀ la ̀ into Gospel Christian worship.


Introduction
Music is an essential phenomenon and a vital part of everyday life in African societies.Vidal (28) states that over the ages, music "has proved to be one of the indispensable arts cultivated by [humans] for growth, nurture and transfer of [their] institution and value to future generations".In the same vein, Isaac illustrates that "the society places a high premium on music and by extension musician[s]".These claims further foreground music as a tool for cultural preservation.Music is quite important in the lives of Africans who make music at home, at social functions and gatherings, at event centres, and in the marketplaces.Music accompanies and celebrates festivals, social rituals, religious gatherings, and political rallies to mobilise people for solidarity.It also involves ceremonial life such as rites of passage, birth and christening, marriage, initiation into adulthood, housewarming, chieftaincy, death, and mourning.Music has roles in healing; therapy; educative purposes; visits of important dignitaries; announcements of the presence of important dignitaries such as kings, chiefs, and governors; and important personalities in society.To be human is to make music, therefore the music we make says a great deal about who we are, or at least who we think we are.Music projects African values with various traditions accompanied by a melody.
Music is a universal phenomenon among the Yorubá of South-West Nigeria.Extensive studies have been carried out on indigenous music such as Juju, Ijaĺa, Dadakuáda, Ẹ sa, Saḱaŕa, Waḱa, and Apala.Yet not much attention has been paid to Gospel Apalà in African Christian worship.Furthermore, Apala's metamorphosis from traditional to Gospel Apala, which involves the worship and praise of God in churches, is not generally Gospel Apalà music in African Christian worship: Thematic and stylistic analysis Music is an indispensable tool of cultural transmission.Considering the vast nature of oral traditions, of which indigenous music is encapsulated, many studies on Nigerian indigenous music have concentrated on Juju, Ijaĺa, Dadakuáda, Ẹ sa, and Apala.However, much research still needs to be done on Gospel Apala, a variant of Traditional Apalà which was popularised by Haŕuńà Ishọ lá and Aỳiǹlá Ọ mọ wuŕa, noted for its highly proverbial folklore, blended with percussive instruments of which duǹduń drum and ṣ ẹ kẹ rẹ ̀ play leading roles to give aesthetic appeal.In this research, therefore, I investigate and document Gospel Apalà as it translates from traditional Apalà into praise and worship of God, in order to identify and describe its unique style and communicative functions, especially in these changing times of modernisation and globalisation.Drawing on systemic functional linguistics and sociology of literature, in this article I provide an analysis and interpretation of six Apalà Gospel songs from three Apalà Gospel artistes: Ṣ adé Ọ ṣ ọ ba, Yọ mí Ọ labiśi, and Boiz Ọ lọ ŕun.I portray the relevance of Apalà music both in Christian worship and events and gathering.Themes in Apalà Gospel include praises, thanksgiving and adoration to God, salvation/acknowledging Jesus, God's greatness and miracles, forgiveness, unity, holiness, heaven, love among brethren, commitment, and dedication to God's work.My findings reveal, among others, that Gospel Apalà music encapsulates indigenous knowledge contained in oral literature.I identify stylistic devices such as repetition, rhetorical question, personification, loan words, code-mixing/code-switching, and proverbs which garnish the metamorphosed music and conclude that Apalà has metamorphosed from traditional Apalà into Gospel Christian worship.Keywords: stylistics, deviation, Gospel Apalà music, Christian worship, oral literature.
captured.This lacuna in knowledge is what I aim to bridge in this article by studying the music of three Gospel Àpàlà artistes, namely: Ṣ adé Ọ ṣ ọ ba, Yọ mí Ọ labiśi, and Boiz Ọ lọ ŕun, thereby foregrounding their contributions to the development and preservation of Àpàlà, an indigenous Yorubá musical heritage.In this study therefore, from a stylistic point of view, I investigate Gospel Àpala, a variant of Apalà which is an Islam-influenced genre, which is indigenous to the Yorubá people in Nigeria and noted for its highly proverbial folklore, with a view to identifying and describing its unique style and communicative functions.With the aid of transcribed albums of three Àpalà artistes, I also look at stylistic devices which garnish Gospel Àpalà music and anchor my research on the theoretical perspectives of systemic functional linguistics and the sociology of literature.
I document Apala, especially in these changing times of modernisation and globalisation.In this article I argue that Gospel Apalà music in Christian worship has not received the attention it deserves.

Àpala: Origin, development, and metamorphosis
Scholars like Mustapha, Euba, Oluśọ ji, Lasiśi, Oludaŕe, Ajetuńmọ bí and Adeṕọ ju, Ọ mọ jọ la, Adeḿowo, and Ajiḱobi have examined the origin and development of Apalà music.Apalà is a Yorubá popular music whose origin could be traced to many sources cutting across such disciplines as music, linguistics, history, religion, and so on.Mustapha and Oluśọ jí ("Nigerian Dances for piano") argue that Apalà evolved from the indigenous music of the Yorubá and can be regarded as folk songs which later metamorphosed into social music.Apalà is a socio-religious music with a prominent instrumental part and a vocal accompaniment rooted in Yorubá philosophy and poetry.Apalà is of the indigenous musical heritage transmitted from generation to generation, performed, recreated, and promoted by the musicians, thus giving the Yorubá people a sense of their cultural history and identity.It is worth noting that saḱaŕa, Apala, Waḱa, dadakuáda, and fuji, which are largely influenced by Islamic and more recently Western cultures, are new developments in Yorubá dance music song poetry.It developed as a non-liturgical Islamic music used during Muslim festivals, from weŕé and waḱà musical forms, used by Muslims to wake up the faithful to eat saàrì (an early morning meal during the Ramadan fast) and welcome pilgrims back from the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca (Ọ mọ jọ la; Oludaŕe).Euba also argues that Apalà began during the fasting season when young Muslims got together to perform music to awaken people for the early morning meal known as saàri, while some scholars (Ọ mọ jọ la; Lasiśi) admit that Apalà has no particular date of origin, and that it has been in existence since 1930 and was called eré fọ wọ ́ b'eti (cover your ear).According to Ajetuńmọ bi, Osiyale, and Sogbesan, Apalà has been in existence since before the likes of Muŕaíńa, Alaò, and even Ligali Mukaíba, but it was popularised by Haruńà Ishọ lá and Aỳiǹlà Ọ mọ wuŕa.Therefore, the origin and development of traditional Apalà music cannot be complete without reference to Haŕuńà Ishọ lá and Aỳiǹlá Ọ mọ wuŕa.
In interviews I conducted with Mr Babaẃaĺé Gaǹiýù on 16 April and 25 September 2020, he mentioned that Ẹ dẹ is the birthplace of Apalà and that a man called Baloǵun and his son Tijańí were renowned Apalà singers as early as 1938.Oluśọ jí ("Comparative Analysis of the Islam influenced Apala, Waka and Sakara Popular Music of the Yoruba"), on the other hand, suggests that Apalà music started long before 1938.Ajadí Ilọ rin, for instance, was remembered to have played Apalà music as early as 1930 (Ajetunmọ bi, Babatunde and Sogbesan 38).Whatever position is true, what is certain is that Apalà evolved among different Yorubá sub-groups that drew their inspirations from popular Yorubá musical forms at different times.This explains why there are more than three different styles or forms of Apalà music, as dictated by the frequency of sound production and combination of instruments used at different times.Each individual developed his own Apalà version among the people of his community, getting inspiration from other Yorubá music, local experiences, and creative ingenuity.According to Ajetuńmọ bi, Osiyale, and Sogbesan, among such styles of Apalà are: Apalà San-an (cool beat)-Haŕuńà Ishọ la; Apalà Songa (hot beat)-Aỳiǹlá Ọ mọ wuŕa; Apalà Wiro (in between Apala san-an and Songa)"; Apalà Igunnu (mixture of beat)-Musiliu Haruna Ishola and Apalà Ọ lalomi (mixture of beat)-Aỳiǹlà Ọ mọ wuŕa.(39) Whichever form it takes, Apalà music is noted for its highly proverbial folklore blended with percussive instruments of which drums play a leading role.An Apalá ensemble consists of Agidigbo (a thumb piano having four or five keys and a rectangular box resonator), ekere (a gourd rattle), agogo (metal gong), Akubà (membrane drum), as well as two or three king drums.The Yorubá people referto Apalà as "Paĺapala ilù apala" (Apalà drum; of different sounds to form a whole).This implies that Apalà music is a conglomeration of various types of songs and drums to produce a unique whole.What this signifies is that Apalà music does not have a clear-cut identity or origin per-se but is a representation of other musical variances.In these present times, Apalà traditional music now has a variant which is Gospel Apala.This is performed in church services and various entertainments.The instrument of Apalà is still the same with Gospel Apala.Gospel Apalà is a variant of Apalà music used in churches for the elevation of God's name.Generally, the stylistic features that are used in Gospel Apalà music include repetition, rhetorical question, personification, loan words, code-mixing/code-switching, and proverbs, among others.Instruments of Gospel Apalà include a rattle (ṣ ẹ kẹ rẹ ), thumb piano (agidigbo), and a bell (agogo), as well as two or three king drums.In the present times, traditional Apalà has effectively moved to Gospel Apala.

Systemic functional linguistics and sociology of literature
Systemic functional linguistics (SFL) was propounded by M. A. K. Halliday.SFL is an interpretive framework that views language as a strategic meaning making resource.This means that it is an important instrument for interpreting texts (Halliday; Matthiessen).The term "functional" symbolises that language performs many functions, hence it is functional.This model (SFL) accounts for how the language is used, whether spoken or written.SFL is functional and semantic rather than formal in orientation.It is bordered on how language is used in spoken or written form and this takes place in contexts of use.Language is viewed as a social activity that has evolved in the functions it serves and also in the structures which showcase these functions.In other words, the model operates in the context of use, which is the environment, situation, or circumstance of use, and not in isolated sentences or words.SFL is based on the context of situation and the context of culture and, in this article, my focus is on context of culture.Apala music as performed in the culture of Yorubá society-which includes views, beliefs, emotions, psychology, and philosophy.Since culture is the way of life of a people, their language therefore reflects and transmits the cultural norms and values of the group.Context of culture is an eye-opener to the socio-cultural rules or codes of behaviour which one must understand in order to communicate appropriately in the society.SFL is a sociological theory which focuses on the sociological aspects of language description, and it is also an interpretive and contextual model.
Sociology of literature, on the other hand, is a scientific theory propounded by Hippolyte Taine (1828Taine ( -1893)).Sociology of literature as a whole deals with how society is represented in the literary work and the interaction of literature with other social institutions.The theory's focus is to show the symbiosis, interconnectivity, and interaction between literature and all the sociological activities occurring in society.Oguńsińà reveals that literary works do not exist in isolation from the society that produces them, and that literature burdens itself with human expression, human experience, and human behaviour since man is a product of his society.Aside from this, literature employs language to represent the happenings of a particular society.As the name suggests, sociology of literature is a fusion of two separate disciplines-sociology and literature.As literature uses language as tools to reproduce human experience the society, the literary Apalà artistes produce songs by using materials from the society which are the property of the society.Sociology comprises of the study of social relationships and the outcome of such relationships for on-going systems, and the process of social change.Sociology burdens itself with all that happens to human beings as a result of their relationship with one another in the society (Barber 43).It is an art of words which entertains, enlightens, educates, and instructs-thereby projecting the experience and behaviour of man in the society.While sociology examines social institutions of family, marriage, economic, religious, and political structures (which form the social structures), literature involves the social world of man and his desire to change the same.Therefore, the field of sociology of literature concerns the study of society, and the social life of people cannot be discussed in isolation, since the culture of a people is reflected in their social life.In this study, Gospel Apalà music is a product-inclusive of content and language-of the society, and it is sung by, and for, the people of the society.

Method and literature review
This is a qualitative research study which adopts a historical and descriptive analysis for its research design.This historical method traces the origin of Gospel Àpàlà, which is a variant of Àpàlà music performed only by the Yorubá people of South-West Nigeria, its development, and the exponents.Moreover, it focuses on the contribution of three Gospel Àpàlà artistes, namely: Ọ ṣ ọ ba, Ọ labiśi, and Olọ ŕun.The descriptive method engages a content analysis of the musical structure of Àpàlà music and particularly that of the three artistes, highlighting how their creative processes and performances of the genre in its authentic form has aided in promoting and conserving this indigenous musical and cultural heritage in order to safeguard its loss to modernity.My field work consisted of identifying selected Gospel Àpàlà artistes, attending their performances and recording them on audio devices, and thereafter the rigorous activity of transcribing, and analysing the performances.I also conducted unstructured oral interviews with five respondents between the ages of 59 and 82 to get their views on the two different kinds of Àpalà music.
In the study I adopt the views of Beier in his understanding of the term 'music' when he explains how the Yorubá people engage music in all their endeavours: There is no occasion in Yorubá life that is not accompanied by songs.Births, marriage, house warming and funeral are all occasions for lyrical songs of great beauty.Everyday life is also accompanied by a great deal of impromptu singing, a kind of musical thinking, in which the singer puts everything to tune which happens to pass through his head.( 23 ) Beier's argument regarding the Yorubá engagement of musical composition in all spheres of life is germane as nothing happens whatsoever that doesn't prompt the Yorubá people to sing.Mention one area of human participation in life, and the Yorubá people always have a ready-made song that can neatly fit into that domain.
It is pertinent to also consider the contribution of Nketia's (African Music in Ghana) belief of Africans and music, of which the Yorubá society is an integral part.He explains thus: The African life and music are inseparable.Music accompanies him in the worship of his gods.The African gods (divinities), some of whom are deified heroes, and each with his own praise chants, chanted in his praise by his own established cult and devotees at worships and special rituals, serve intermediary purposes.The African believes in the existence of a Supreme God, who is the "Prime mover" and maker of all that exists.The African approach Him in worship, praising Him and making their request known through the gods.And in doing this, song is mostly adopted.(4) The above statement explains that music is one of those tools Africans makes use of during the worship of their gods or deities.It is used to invoke the spirit of the gods, to make supplications, and to pray in terms of people's need.The power of music is brought to the lime-light here.This implies that there is a strong spiritual bond in music generally.In another vein, Nketia (Music of Africa) tries to categorise the African songs.He ponders the category of songs that he terms the 'songs of the elders'.He stresses that these types of songs remind one of the past, and it requires some kind of knowledge to understand them: "One of the most important categories of songs found in African societies, may be described as 'songs of the elders'.They remind people of the past and values of a society and require some knowledge of oral tradition before one can understand them" (196).
Nketia's position here is very straightforward and can be likened to the Yorubá songs meant for the elderly people, Orin agbà (songs of the elders).This type of song, unlike contemporary music, takes more experience of life to digest and understand, hence they are mainly understood by the elders.Apart from this, there are songs referred to as Orin awo (songs of the initiates).Omibiỳí gives a detailed explanation of the effect of music on the Yorubá life and the categories of songs: Among the Yorubá of Nigeria, as well as other ethnic groups in Africa, music is an integral and functional part of daily activities.It permeates every level of traditional life be it social, religious or ceremonial.Consequently, there exist a large repertory of both vocal and instrumental music such as various songs for entertainment, songs for individual and group labour, praise songs for kings, deities and other important people to mention a few.(492) Wachsmann gives an insightful explanation as to how the African child imbibed the spirit of musicality from the mother at cradle.He asserts: He starts off on his mother's back and for a long time he never leaves it […] When she speaks he must feel the vibrations of her body, when she pounds a mortar he must be aware of the muscular effort of lifting the pestle; he probably is aware of the actual thud of the pestle reaching the bottom of the mortar.Here an experience of rhythm is introduced.(499) Idoẁú supports Omibiỳi's views about the African take on music, providing further evidence that Africans always accompany everything in life with music: We have the songs.These constitute a rich heritage of all Africa.Africans are always singing; and in their singing and poetry, they express themselves: All the joys and sorrows of their hearts, and their hopes and fears about the future, find outlet.Singing is always a vehicle conveying certain sentiments or truth […] in each people's songs, there is a wealth of material for the scholars who will patiently sift and collate.(85) Awoĺalú and Dọ paḿú (qtd in Ajiḱobi) compliment the above statements on music thus: "In all, songs tell the stories of the people's past […] they also express the joy and sorrows of the people, their assurances, hopes and fears of the future and life after death" (1).
One important point he tries to lay emphasis on with the above statement is the fact that a good relationship exists between dance, drum, and music.
Oluḱojù (118) explains the various ways and manners by which one can make use of songs or music.He outlines those ways based on life phenomenon and human endeavour, and views music as a vehicle that transports our thoughts for people to hear in terms of joy, sadness, or during praise and thanksgiving.He attests to the fact that music serves as a therapeutic tool to heal and ease the mind of the bereaved and goes further to explain that music serves as a motivational tool that boosts and encourages the mind of the African towards any physical engagements such as war or during stressful work.

Themes of Gospel ApalaP
raises, thanksgiving, and adoration of God This theme is common to Gospel Apalà artistes as it is their usual practice to make it a priority.Before they commence their performance, they give praises to God for the gift of life, their audience, and their hosts' invitation to minister.The praises they offer include the gift of salvation which speaks volumes of deep knowledge of Jesus.It is obvious that praises permeate their performances.

Salvation/acknowledging Jesus
In the excerpt below, Ọ̀ṣọba, a female Gospel Apalà artist, sings about salvation thus: "Ọ rẹ ́ ẹ kaĺọ , wá lọ tọ ́ Jeśù wo" (Friends follow me, come and taste Jesus)": From the excerpt above, the artist projects Jesus as a friend of sinners whom the world loves (ọ ̀rẹ́ ẹlẹ ́ṣ ẹ̀ taŕaýé ń fẹ).She also spells out the spiritual implication of not accepting Jesus such as playing with fire and encounters with poverty/suffering (Ó ti daju, ó ń fińa ṣ ere).She counsels people not to be stubborn and arrogant.The next example is titled, "Since I've known Jesus, I have liberty".From Ọ̀ṣọba's examples above, she mostly sings about her salvation and the liberty she has in Christ Jesus.She narrates her encounters since she came in contact with Jesus and says there is no trouble for her (There is no tiŕọ ́bù fuń mi raŕa).She mentions the differences between her former life and her present experiences.
Ọlabiśi, a male Gospel Apalà artist, also makes the theme of appreciation to God his major pre-occupation as he sings: "Ladies & Gentlemen, Ẹ sọ ̣ pá ijo" (Let us dance): Ọlabiśí makes appreciation to God his major priority as seen above.He employs loan words from English and Pidgin English.He expresses faith in Christ by using faith language such as "Lẹ ́fù mi ti change (my level has changed), mo ti elevate (I am elevated), Mí o niṕẹ gbà visa lọ sí ilú ọba (I shall soon obtain visa abroad), Ayé mi ti change (my life has changed), Rọ ra (lift your leg gently), gbẹ ́sẹ̀ (lift your leg), ẹ jẹ́ ká yin Babá (let's praise Father), Gbé bodi rẹ̀ (lift up your body), jẹ̣ ka yin babá o let's praise Fathero)".This use of language portrays him as an international man in this age of civilisation and globalisation.
Another male Gospel Apalà artist, Olọ ŕun, focuses on appreciation and gratitude to God.The name "Boiz Olọŕun" means "God's Boys".This implies that "God's boys" is a special name chosen by the leader of the group.Just like other Gospel Apalà artists, Olọ ́run's preoccupation is praises and adoration to the Lord.He mentions many negative experiences that God shields one from as in the examples below: "Ọlọ ́run tí ò jẹ́ o ya were" (God that does not allow you to run mad), "Ọlọ ́run tí ò jẹ́ kí ṣọ ́jà nà ọ" (God that does not allow soldier to beat you), "Ọlọ ́run tí ò jẹ́ kí o riǹ lọ " (God that does not allow you to get lost) in the song "Ọ lọ ŕun tí ò jẹ ́ o ya were" (God that does not allow you to run mad): talking drum here), "Oniǵańgan ń bẹ ̣ ̀ nibi" (Gańgan drummer is here), and his lyrics "Iṣ ẹ ́ Oluẃa ó ta lẹ ́ nu" (God's work is pepperish in the mouth) align with current happenings and money-related matters as it happens in a globalised world.It is very germane to mention this aspect as it showcases the present/modern day foods and drinks such as burgers, cokes.etc.

Stylistic devices
The use of stylistic devices and oral traditional materials such as repetition, rhetorical question, personification, loan words, code-mixing/switching, and proverbs explicitly beautify, embellish, and magnifying the dominant intents of the singers.It thereby positions the two genres-traditional Apalà and Gospel Apala-as pieces that breathe into one another in terms of form, voices, and popularity.The excitement most Christians get from it affirms people's nostalgic feeling their heritage embedded in Apalà music.Scholars such as Iṣ ọ la, Baḿgbọ ṣ e, Ọ labọ de, Ọ latuńji, Adebọ waĺe, Ọ latẹ ju, and Ojó have emphasised the importance of stylistic devices in works of art.Stylistic devices are linguistic resources employed deliberately to fulfil a stylistic task or expressive means of the language.Their primary goal is to achieve aesthetic ornaments, that is, to beautify literary works.In order to make their Gospel Apalà music enticing and classical, the artistes employ different stylistic devices to enrich their performances.They dexterously exploit the resources of the Yorubá language in a special and heightened manner with the intention of transforming their experiences into works of art.Ọ latẹ jú asserts that the ambition of any literary writer/artist is to achieve two things, and these are 'message ' and 'entertainment' (277).Ọ latẹ ju's point is further buttressed with the fact that in order to achieve his purpose of writing, the "writer/artist employs consciously his literary and linguistic skills by packing into the work all ingredients that would generate aesthetic pleasure" (277).As a work of art, literature involves a skilful exploitation and manipulation of language and, through this, an artist may be described as brilliant and ingenious.In the following section, I examine a few stylistic devices employed by the multi-talented artistes who skilfully mint and mend words in both Yorubá and English languages.This act of skilfully smiting words could be seen in all their songs.They achieve this through the use of stylistic devices such as repetition, rhetorical questions, personification, loan words, code-mixing/ code-switching, and proverbs, among others.

Repetition
This is a stylistic device that involves intentional usage of a word, phrase, or full sentence two or more times in a speech or written work to create effect.As an aesthetic device and chief among all stylistic devices, repetition creates beauty and good taste in a work of art (Babalọ la).It projects creativity of the writer's sense of value, thereby aiding and sustaining memorability.It helps in shaping and sharpening one's memory and is used as a foregrounding tool in highlighting and reiterating an important message.For repetition to be noticeable, the words, phrases, or sentences should be repeated within close proximity of each other for the purpose of emphasis and memorability.The lexico-structural pattern can be either full or partial (Ọ latuńji).Repetition is common in almost all the Yorubá poetic genres, such as orin (songs), oríkì (praise-poetry), ọ fọ (incantation), ẹ sẹ -ifá (ifá divination poetry), ẹ kún-ìyáwó (bridal cry), and òwe (proverbs).There are six types of repetition: full, partial, lexical, semantic, phonetic, and thematic repetition.Traditional Apalà also use repetition, which explains the occurrence of repetition in Gospel Apala.

Full/sentential repetition
Full or sentential repetition is the intentional repetition of a sentence structure in several lines in a literary work for effect, usually to create a concrete and stronger impact in a poem or song.Ọ ṣ ọ ba, Ọ labiśi, and Ọ lọ ŕun repeated the full sentences to provide clarity and emphasis, highlighting deeper meanings of their songs.Also, the whole elements of the sentence being repeated are reduplicated God's work is pepperish in the mouth God's work is pepperish in the mouth The layman's judgement of the above repetitions may be light and inconsequential, but a close look at them will make one see the basic rudiment and stylistic purpose of full/sentential repetition

Lexical repetition
Lexical repetition foregrounds or focuses on some items which may occur at the beginning, middle, or end of the sentence.The effect of this kind of repetition is intensification and topicalisation.The writer beams his searchlight on a particular word repeatedly for emphasis, bringing out a central message.Whenever there is a preponderance of a particular word, lexical repetition is found.To avoid ambiguity, lexical repetition is necessary.Lexical repetition is shown in the example below: The words Jeśu, change, elevate, ṣ ọ pẹ, and raŕá are constantly repeated to prevent ambiguity.

Partial repetition
In partial repetition, the sentence structure is repeated, but not all the lexical items are repeated.

Rhetorical questions
The rhetorical question is derived from classical rhetoric.It is the art of public speaking in which a speaker asks some questions in order to buttress a point.A rhetorical question is stylistic use of interrogative language, in such a way that the response to the said interrogation is already suggested as provided by the speaker him/herself.In literature, a rhetorical question is a question posed to the audience in which an answer is not expected since the answer is already suggested in the question.This is known as apparent interrogation and when rhetorical questions are uttered, they are not expected to be responded to by the referents/addressee.This stylistic technique is very conspicuous in the songs of all the artistes.Examples abound in the provided texts.

Personification
Personification is a stylistic device which gives animate qualities and strength to inanimate things (Ojo, "Predominant Stylistic Devices of Proverbs in Selected Yoruba Literary Texts" 282).Personification is a reference to inanimate objects as if they were animate.It is an extension of a metaphor, especially as it invests non-human things with human attributes with the intention of making them vivid (Ọ latuńji).Examples of personification employed by the artistes are "Ṣẹ ̀kẹ ̀rẹ̀ ń bẹ nibi" (There is rattle here) and "Omele ń bẹ nibi" (There is talking drum here) (Ọ lọ ŕun, "Ṣ ọ pẹ ́ tiẹ̀ ")-the gourd or rattle, and talking drum are personified, as if they can attend events.
The examples contain many instances of alternation between Yoruba and English.

Proverbs
Proverbs are reflections and expressions of wisdom, ethics, philosophy, and beliefs of a given society (Ojo, "A Stylistic Analysis of Proverbs in Selected Yorubá Written Literature" 2).Proverbs employ figurative language to make a statement of fact as shown below: Bẹ ́yin bá forí sọ apata Ó ti daju, fifọ́ ló mí a fọ́ (Ọ ṣ ọ ba, "Since I've known Jesus") If an egg collides with a stone It is certain, it will break certainly there is no king like God The above proverb expresses the truth that if an egg collides with the rock, it will break.It shows how fragile an egg is.This proverb means "to attempt the impossible".

Conclusion
In this article I explored the description, thematic, and stylistic traits of Gospel Àpàlà music which is a variant of Àpàlà music.I argued that Gospel Àpàlà artistes Ọ ṣ ọ bà, Ọ lábísí, and Ọ lọ ŕun improved on traditional Àpàlà's original form in terms of the music, lyrics, language, and instrumentation by resuscitating the dying traditional Àpàlà into global limelight.I I present the description and relevance of Gospel Àpàlà in line with the principles of systemic functional linguistics and sociology of literature.Themes of Gospel Àpàlà focus mainly on praise and worship of God, thereby projecting God's greatness, and entertaining, educative, informative, and therapeutic functions of literature.The styles, beats, and instruments of traditional Àpàlà have been retained but modernised to project the continuity of the genre.Stylistic devices which garnish their music include repetition, rhetorical questions, personification, loan words, code-mixing/code-switching, and proverbs.From the discussion, it is clear that traditional Àpàlà has become a variant of Àpàlà music.It is therefore safe to conclude that Gospel Àpàlà has become a new register of African music.