Fela Kuti
Fela is a man of contradictions. That's what makes him so intriguing. People who love him are able to accept his flaws.
His songs typically last longer than 20 minutes and are sung in thick, almost incomprehensible Pidgin English. His music is influenced primarily by Christian hymns and classical music. He also includes jazz, Yoruba, and highlife with horns and guitars.
He was a musician
Fela Kuti embodied the idea that music is a tool for change. He made use of his music to push for social and political changes, and his influence is evident in the world of today. Afrobeat is a style of music that combines African and Western influences. Its roots are in West-African music as well as funk. However it has evolved into a new genre.
His political activism was fierce and fearless. He made use of his music to protest against corruption in the government and human rights abuses. Songs such as "Zombie", "Coffin for the State Head" and others were blatant critiques of Nigeria's regime. He also used his residence, Kalakuta Republic, as an area for political activism as well as an area for gathering with people who were like-minded.
The production includes a massive portrait featuring his late mother Funmilayo ransome-Kuti. She was a prominent feminist and activist. She is portrayed by actress Shantel Cribbs, who successfully conveyed her significance in the life of Fela. The play also explores her political activism. Despite her deteriorating health she was unable to get tested for AIDS and instead opted for traditional treatments.
He was a singer
The Fela Ransome Kuti was a complex man who employed his music to effect political change. He is credited as the creator of afrobeat. It was an energetic mix of funk and traditional African rhythms. He was a vocal critic of Nigeria's governmental and religious leaders.
Growing up with an anti-colonial feminist mother, it is no surprise that Fela had a passion for political and social commentary. His parents wanted him to become medical doctor however, he had other 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 such as Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver would have a profound influence on his music. He adopted a philosophy of Pan-Africanism, which would inform and guide his later work.
He was a writer.
Fela met Black Power activists such as Stokely Carmichael, and Malcolm X during his time in the United States. This led him to create an activist group known as the Movement of the People and compose songs that expressed the ideas that he held about political activism and black awareness. His philosophies were expressed through the method of yabis, which is a form of public speaking that is referred to as "freedom of expression". He also began to establish strict moral codes for his group, which included refusing to use medications from doctors trained in the West.
Fela returned to Nigeria and started building his own club in Ikeja. The police and military officials were constant. His Mosholashi-Idi Oro hangers repopulated the area around the club with drugs of all kinds, especially "bana" and "yamuna" (heroin). But despite this, Fela kept his integrity unshaken. His music is a testimony to the determination with which he challenged authority and demanded that the desires of the masses be reflected in official objectives. It is an enduring legacy that will endure for generations.
He was a poet
In his music, Fela used light-hearted sarcasm to discuss political and economic issues in Nigeria. He also mocked his fans, the government, and himself. During these shows, he would refer to himself as "the big fish in the small pond." These jokes were not viewed lightly by the authorities and he was repeatedly detained, imprisonments and beatings at the hands of authorities. He eventually adopted the name Anikulapo, which means "he is carrying death in his pouch."
In 1977, Fela recorded a song called "Zombie," which compared soldiers to mindless zombies who followed orders without question. This offended the military, which raided the Kalakuta Republic, burning it down and beating its occupants. During the raid, Fela's mother was thrown out of her second-floor apartment through a window.
In the decades following the independence of Nigeria, Fela created Afrobeat, the genre of music that combined jazz and native African rhythm. His songs criticized European cultural imperialism and defended African traditional traditions and religions. He also criticised fellow Africans for betraying the traditions of their homeland. He also stressed the importance of freedom and human rights.
He was an artist of hip-hop.
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 influenced his style of music. After a trip to the United States in 1969, Fela met Sandra Smith, an activist from the Black Power movement, and her ideas impacted his work in a profound way.
Upon fela railroad settlements to Nigeria, Fela began using his music as a political tool. He was critical of the government of his home country, and argued against Western sensibilities affecting African culture. He also wrote about human rights violations and social injustices. rights abuses. He was repeatedly detained for his criticism of the military.
Fela was also a proponent of marijuana in Africa, which is known as "igbo". He held "yabis" (public discussions) at Afrika Shrine, where he would ridicule officials of the government and spread his views regarding freedom of expression and the beauty of women's bodies. Fela also had a group of young women, who performed in his shows and also served as vocal backups to him.
He was a dancer
Fela was a master of musical fusion, combining elements from jazz, beat music, and highlife to create his own distinct style. He influenced a generation of African musicians and was an outspoken critic of colonial rule.
Despite being arrested and tortured by the Nigerian military junta, and witnessing his mother killed, Fela refused to leave the country. He died in 1997 from AIDS-related complications.
Fela was a well-known political activist who criticized the oppressive Nigerian Government and supported the principles of Pan Africanism. His albums, including 1973's Gentleman focused on the oppression of both government and colonial forces. He also promoted black power and criticized Christianity and Islam as non-African imports that have been used to divide the people of Africa. The title track from the album from 1978, Shuffering and Shmiling, describes the over-crowded public buses full of poor people "shuffering and smiling." Fela was a strong opponent of hypocrisy in religion. His dancers were an excellent match for his music. They were sensual, vibrant, and elegant. Their contributions were as important as Fela’s words.
He was an activist in the political arena.
Fela Kuti was a militant who used music to challenge oppressive authority. He adapts his knowledge of American jazz and funk to African patterns and rhythms and created 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.
Unlike many artists, who were hesitant to expose their political beliefs, Fela was fearless and uncompromising. He stood in the cause he believed in, even when it was risky. His mother, Funmilayo Runsome-Kuti was a prominent feminist who led the Nigerian Women's Movement. His father was a protestant minister and the teacher's union president.
He also established Kalakuta Republic - a recording studio and commune that became a symbol of the resistance. The government raided Kalakuta's Republic which destroyed property and injuring Fela. He refused to give up, however, and continued to speak against the government. He passed away from complications of AIDS in 1997. He was succeeded by his son, Femi, who continues to carry on his music and political legacy.
He was a father
Music is often viewed as a form of political protest, and musicians use lyrics to solicit change. But some of the most effective musical protests don't use words in any way. Fela Kuti was one such artist, and his music still rings out to this day. He was the pioneer of Afrobeat music, which blends traditional African rhythms and harmony with hip-hop and jazz, being influenced by artists like 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. She also studied Marxism and believed Nigeria should be serving its entire population.
Fela's son Seun continues his father's legacy through a band called Egypt 80 that's touring the world this year. The Egyptian 80's music blends the sound of Fela and a scathing critique of the power structures that exist in the present. The new album, Black Times, will be released in March. Many fans attended the funeral and paid tributes at Tafawa Balewa Square. The crowd was so huge that police had to shut off the entrance to the location.