Fela Kuti
Fela is a man of contradictions. That's what makes him so intriguing. People who love him are able to overlook his shortcomings.
His songs are usually longer than 20 minutes, and sung in a thick Pidgin English that is almost incomprehensible. His music is influenced by Christian hymns and classical music, jazz, Yoruba chant, and horn-and-guitar heavy highlife.
He was a musician
Fela Kuti embodied that music can be used to influence the world. His music was used to argue for social, political and economic change. His influence is felt even today. Afrobeat is a musical style that blends African and Western influences. Its roots lie in West-African hip-life music and funk however, it has evolved into a distinct genre.
His political activism was fierce and he did it without fear. He made use of his music to speak out against corruption in government and human rights abuses. Songs such as "Zombie", "Coffin for the State Head" and others were bold criticisms of Nigeria's government. He also made his home, Kalakuta Republic, as an enclave for political activism and an area for gathering with like-minded people.
The play includes a large portrait of his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who was a well-known feminist activist and feminist pioneer. Shantel Cribbs portrays her and she does a great job of conveying her importance in the life of Fela. The play also focuses her political activism. Despite her declining health she refused to be tested for AIDS. Instead she opted for traditional treatment.
He was a singer
Fela Ransome-Kuti was a complex man who used his music to facilitate political change. He is known for creating Afrobeat, which is a blend of dirty funk with traditional African rhythms. He was also a relentless critic of Nigeria's political and religious leaders.
Growing up with fela lawyer -colonial suffragist mother, it is no surprise that Fela had a passion for politics and social commentary. His parents believed that he would be a doctor but he had other ideas.
While he initially sounded in a more apolitical, highlife style, a trip to America could alter his perspective forever. Exposure to Black power movements and the leaders such as Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver had a profound effect on his music. He developed an African-centric philosophy which would guide and inform his later work.
He was a writer.
While in the United States Fela was introduced to Black Power activists such as Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X. This experience led him to form an organization called the Movement of the People and create songs that expressed the ideas he had about political activism and black awareness. His philosophy was expressed publicly by yabis - a type of public speaking that he called 'freedom expression'. He also began to establish an uncompromising code of ethics for his group, which included refusing to use medicine from Western-trained doctors.
Fela returned to Nigeria and began building his own club in Ikeja. Raids from police and military officials were constant. His Mosholashi-Idi Oro hangers were able to repopulate the area surrounding the club with hard drugs, especially "bana" and "yamuna" (heroin). However, Fela maintained an uncompromising integrity. His music is a testament of his determination to challenge authority and demanding that the popular goals are reflected in official goals. It is an amazing legacy that will be remembered for generations to be.
He was a poet
In his music, Fela used light-hearted sarcasm to draw attention to political and economic issues in Nigeria. He also made fun of his audience, government officials, and even himself. In 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 renamed himself Anikulapo, which means "he is carrying death in his pocket."
In 1977, Fela released a song called "Zombie" in which he compared soldiers with blind zombies who obeyed orders without question. This irritated the military who seized the Kalakuta Republic, burning it down and beating its occupants. During the raid, Fela's mother was thrown out of her second-floor apartment by the window.
In the years following the independence of Nigeria, Fela created Afrobeat, a genre of music that combined jazz and native African rhythm. His songs criticised European culture imperialism and supported African traditional religions and cultures. He also criticised fellow Africans for betraying their country's traditions. He emphasized the importance of freedom and human rights.
He was a rapper
Fela Anikulapo Kuti, trumpeter and saxophonist was born in Abeokuta in 1938. He is a pioneer in Afrobeat music. He grew up listening to 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 affected his work profoundly.
When he returned to Nigeria, Fela began using his music as a political tool. He criticized the government of his country and argued against Western sensibilities that affected African culture. He also wrote about social inequities and human rights violations, and was repeatedly arrested for his criticism of the military.
Fela was also a fervent advocate of marijuana in Africa that is also known as "igbo". He held "yabis" (public discussions) at Afrika Shrine where he would mock government officials and express his views regarding freedom of expression and the beauty of women's bodies. Fela also had an entourage of young women, who performed at his shows and also served as vocal backups to him.
He was a dancer
Fela was a master of musical fusion. He incorporated elements from beat music, and highlife to create his own distinctive style. He was a renowned African musician and a vocal critic of colonial ruling.
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 from AIDS-related complications.
Fela was an activist in the political arena who was a critic of the oppressive Nigerian government and supported the principles of Pan Africanism. His albums, like 1973's Gentleman focused on the oppression of both government and colonial political parties. He also pushed for black-power and criticised Christianity, Islam and other non-African imports that divide the people of Africa. The title track of a 1978 album, Shuffering and Shmiling, describes the over-crowded public buses packed with workers "shuffering and shmiling." Fela was a strong opponent of hypocrisy in religion. His dancers were an excellent complement to his music. They were vivacious, sensual, and regal. Their contributions were as important as Fela's words.
He was an activist in the political arena.
Fela Kuti used music as a way to confront unjust authorities. He steered his knowledge of American funk and jazz toward African patterns and rhythms, creating an edgy sound that was prepared for battle. The majority of his songs begin as simmering instrumentals, slowly adding little riffs and long-lined melodies until they explode in a flash of vigor.
Fela like many artists who were scared to speak about their politics was unflinching and uncompromising. He stood up for his beliefs even when it was risky to do so. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was a feminist who led the Nigerian Women's Movement. His father was a protestant minister as well as the teacher's union president.
He also established Kalakuta Republic - a recording studio and commune that grew into an emblem of the resistance. The government seized the commune, destroying the property and hurting Fela badly. He refused to give up, however and continued to speak out against the government. He died from complications of AIDS in 1997. He was succeeded by his son, Femi, who continues to carry on his musical and political legacy.
He was a father
Music is often thought of as a political act, with artists using lyrics to demand change. But some of the most effective music-related protests do not use words at all. Fela Kuti is one these artists and his music resonates today. He was the first to pioneer Afrobeat that combines traditional African rhythms and harmonies with jazz and funk, inspired by artists like James Brown.
Fela's mother, Funmilayo Runsome-Kuti, was an activist and unionist who was a fighter against colonialism. She helped form the Abeokuta Women's Union and fought against gender-discriminatory taxation laws. She also studied marxism and believed in a Nigeria that was serving its the entire population.
Fela's son Seun continues his father's legacy through the band Egypt 80 that's touring the world this year. The Egyptian 80's music blends the sound of Fela with a scathing denunciation of power structures that still exist in the present. Black Times will be released by the end of March. Many fans attended the funeral and paid tributes at Tafawa Balewa Square. The crowd was so huge, that police had to block the entrance.