Fela Kuti
The life of Fela is full of contradictions, and that's a large part of what makes him so captivating. People who love him will forgive the flaws in him.
His songs are usually 20 minutes or more and are performed in a dense Pidgin English that is almost unintelligible. His music is heavily influenced by Christian hymns and classical music, jazz, Yoruba singing, and horn-andguitar heavy highlife.
He was a musician
Fela Kuti embodied that music can be a powerful tool to influence the world. He used his music to advocate for social and political changes, and his influence is felt in the world today. Afrobeat is a style of music that blends African and Western influences. Its roots are in West-African music as well as funk. However it has evolved into a completely new genre.
His political activism was ferocious and unflinching. He made use of his music to protest government corruption and human rights violations. Songs like "Zombie" and "Coffin for the Head of State" were provocative critiques of the Nigerian regime. He also made use of Kalakuta as a venue to connect with like-minded individuals and to promote political activism.
The play includes a large portrait of his late mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who was a well-known activist and feminist pioneer. Shantel Cribbs plays her, and she does an excellent job of capturing the importance she played in Fela's life. The play also focuses on her political activism. Despite her deteriorating condition she refused to undergo tests for AIDS. Instead she took traditional medicine.
He was a musician
Fela Ransome-Kuti was a complex man who employed his music to facilitate political change. He is famous for his work on Afrobeat, a mix of funk and dirty African rhythms. He was a fervent critic of Nigeria's religious and governmental leaders.
Having been raised by an anti-colonial suffragist mom, it is no surprise that Fela was a fan of social commentary and politics. His parents wanted him to be a physician, but he had different plans.
While he started in a more apolitical, highlife style, a trip to America would change his outlook forever. The exposure to Black power movements and the leaders like Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver would have a profound impact on his music. He adopted a Pan-Africanism ideology that would influence and inform his later work.
He was a writer.
Fela was introduced to Black Power activists such as Stokely Carmichael, and Malcolm X during his time in the United States. The experiences inspired him to establish an activist movement known as the Movement of the People, and to write songs that reflected his views on black and political consciousness. His philosophy was expressed publicly through yabis, a form of public speaking he called 'freedom expression'. He also began imposing an ethical code of conduct on his band. This included refusing to accept medication from Western-trained physicians.
After returning to Nigeria Fela started building his own club and the Shrine in Ikeja. The police and military officials were all the time. His hangers-on from Mosholashi-Idi-Oro repopulated the area around the club with hard drugs, particularly the 'yamuna' and 'bana' (heroin). Fela kept his integrity in spite of this. His music is a testimony to the determination with which he fought authority and demanded that popular ambitions be reflected in official goals. It is an extraordinary legacy that will last for generations to be.
He was a poet
Fela's music used sarcasm and humor to draw attention to economic and political issues in Nigeria. He also snarkily mocked his audience, the government, and even himself. He referred to himself during these shows as "the big dick on the small pond." The authorities were not taking his jokes lightly, and he was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned. He was also beating by the authorities. He eventually adopted the name Anikulapo, meaning "he carries death in his pocket."
In 1977, Fela recorded a song called "Zombie," which compared soldiers to zombies who followed orders without question. This irritated the military, which raided the Kalakuta Republic, burning it down and beating its inhabitants. During the raid, Fela's mother was thrown from her second-floor window.
In the years following the independence of Nigeria, Fela created Afrobeat, a genre of music that blended jazz and native African rhythm. His songs criticised European cultural imperialism and defended traditional African beliefs and cultures. He also criticised fellow Africans for disrespecting their country's tradition. He stressed the importance of human rights and freedom.
He was a rapper
A trumpeter, saxophonist and composer and pioneer of the Afrobeat genre, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was born in 1938 in Abeokuta, Nigeria. He grew up with jazz music, rock and roll and traditional African music and chants, which helped shape his unique style of music. After an excursion to the United States in 1969, Fela met Sandra Smith, an activist from the Black Power movement and her ideas affected his work dramatically.
Fela's music was an instrument of political power upon his return to Nigeria. He was critical of the government of his home country and argued against Western sensibilities that affected African culture. He also wrote about social inequities and human rights violations and was frequently detained for his criticism of the military.
Fela also advocated for the use of marijuana, referred to as "igbo" in Africa. He frequently held public discussions at Afrika Shrine, called "yabis", in which he would lampoon officials of the government and share his beliefs about freedom of expression and the beauty of women's bodies. Fela also had a group of young women, who danced at his shows and acted as vocal backups to his vocalists.
He was a dancer
Fela was a master of musical fusion, combining elements from jazz, beat music and highlife to create his own distinctive style. He was a renowned African musician and vocal critic of colonial rule.
Despite being arrested and tortured by the Nigerian military junta and seeing his mother killed, Fela refused to leave the country. He died in 1997 of AIDS-related complications.
Fela was a political activist who was critical of the oppressive Nigerian government and supported the principles of Pan Africanism. His albums, including 1973's Gentleman focused on the oppression of both the government and colonial parties. He also emphasized black power and criticized Christianity and Islam as non-African imports that have been used to divide the people of Africa. The title track of the album from 1978, Shuffering and Shmiling, describes the over-crammed public busses full of poor people "shuffering and smiling." Fela was a strong opponent of hypocrisy in religion. Fela's music was in turn complemented by his dancers, who were lively, sensual, and regal. Their contributions were as important as Fela's words.
He was a political activist
Fela Kuti was an activist who utilized music to challenge unjust authority. He adapted his knowledge of American jazz and funk to African rhythms and modes making an ear that was ready for a fight. Most of his songs begin as slow-burning instrumentals. He layers little riffs, long-lined melody lines and other elements until they explode in a blaze of energy.
In contrast to many artists who were afraid to speak out about their politics, Fela was fearless and uncompromising. He stood in his convictions even when it was dangerous to do so. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was a feminist who was the leader of the Nigerian Women's Movement. His father was a protestant minister and the president of the teachers union.
He also established Kalakuta Republic, a commune and recording studio that was an expression of resistance. The government seized the commune, degrading the property and injuring Fela badly. He refused to give up, however and continued to speak against the government. He passed away in 1997 of complications related to AIDS. He was succeeded by his son, Femi, who continues to continue his musical and political legacy.
He was a father
Music is often thought of as a political act, and musicians use lyrics to solicit change. Some of the most powerful music performances are not accompanied by words. Fela Kuti is among these artists and his music is heard today. He was the founder of Afrobeat music, which blends traditional African rhythms and harmonies with jazz and hip-hop and was influenced by artists such as James Brown.
Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was Fela's activist mother. She was a unionist and opposed colonialism. She helped form the Abeokuta Women's Union and fought against gender-discriminatory taxation laws. fela lawyer studied marxism and believed in the idea of a Nigeria that was serving its all of its citizens.
Seun, Fela's Son, is carrying the legacy of his father with a band named Egypt 80. The band is touring the world in this year. The band's music blends the sounds and politics of Fela's day with a searing denunciation of the same power structures that are still in place today. Black Times will be released at the end March. Many fans attended the funeral and paid their tributes at Tafawa Balewa Square. The crowd was so huge that police were forced to shut down the entrance to the venue.