Fela Kuti
Fela is a man with contradictions. That's why he's so intriguing. People who love him will overlook his shortcomings.
His songs often run for longer than 20 minutes and are performed in dense, almost unintelligible Pidgin English. His music is influenced by Christian hymns and classical music. He also incorporates jazz, Yoruba, and highlife with horns and guitars.
He was a musician
Fela Kuti embodied the idea that music is a tool for change. His music was used to argue for social, political and economic change. His influence can be felt today. Afrobeat is a musical style that blends African and Western influences. Its roots are in West-African music and funk. However, it has evolved into a new genre.
His political activism was ferocious and he did it without fear. He used his music to protest government corruption and human rights violations. Songs like "Zombie" and "Coffin for the Head of State" were bold criticisms of the Nigerian regime. The residence he lived in, Kalakuta Republic, as an area for political activism and an opportunity to meet people who were like-minded.
The production features a huge portrait of his late mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who was a prominent feminist activist and feminist pioneer. The actress who portrays her is Shantel Cribbs, who has successfully conveyed her significance in the life of Fela. The play also explores her political activism. Despite her declining health, she refused to be tested for AIDS. Instead she took traditional medicine.
He was a musician
Fela Ransome-Kuti was a multifaceted musician who used his music to effect political change. He is credited with being the creator of afrobeat. It was an invigorating hybrid of dirty funk and traditional African rhythms. He was a fierce critic of Nigeria's religious and governmental leaders.
Having been raised by an anti-colonial feminist mother and a feminist father, it's not a surprise that Fela was interested in political and social commentary. His parents wanted him to become medical doctor, but he had different plans.
A trip to America changed his perspective forever. Exposure to Black political movements and leaders like Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver had a profound effect on his music. He adopted a Pan-Africanism ideology that would guide and inform his later work.
He was a songwriter
Fela encountered Black Power activists like Stokely Carmichael, and Malcolm X during his time in the United States. This experience led him to form a political group called the Movement of the People and write songs that expressed the ideas he had about activism and black awareness. His ideas were expressed in public via the way of yabis, which is a form of public speaking that is referred to as "freedom of expression". He also began imposing an ethical code of conduct on his band. This included refusing to take medication from Western-trained medical professionals.
Fela returned to Nigeria and began building his own club in Ikeja. The raids by police and military officials was almost constant. The Mosholashi-Idi Oro hangers-on who he had re the area around the club with hard drugs, particularly the 'yamuna' and 'bana' (heroin). Fela kept his integrity regardless of this. His music is a testimony to the determination with which he challenged authority and demanded that the popular will be reflected in official objectives. It is an extraordinary legacy that will endure for generations to be.
He was a poet
In his music, Fela used light-hearted sarcasm to highlight economic and political issues in Nigeria. He also poked fun at his audience, government officials, and even himself. He often referred to himself during these shows as "the big dick in the pond with the little fish." The authorities were not taking his jokes lightly, and he was frequently detained and imprisoned. He was also beating by the authorities. He eventually renamed himself Anikulapo which translates to "he carries death in his pouch."
In 1977, Fela recorded a song called "Zombie," which compared soldiers to mindless zombies that obeyed orders without hesitation. The military was offended by the song, which raided the Kalakuta Republic, burning it down and beating its inhabitants. During the raid, Fela's mother was thrown out of her second-floor through a window.
In the years after Nigeria's independence, Fela created Afrobeat, an genre of music that combined jazz and traditional African rhythm. His songs attacked European imperialism in culture and praised African traditional traditions and religions. He also criticised fellow Africans for ignoring the traditions of their homeland. He also stressed the importance of freedom and human rights.
He was a hip-hop artist
Fela Anikulapo Kuti, trumpeter and saxophonist was born in Abeokuta in 1938. He is a pioneer in Afrobeat music. He was influenced by jazz, rock and roll as well as traditional African music, chants and music. After his trip to the United States in 1969, Fela met Sandra Smith, an activist from the Black Power movement and her ideas influenced his work in a profound way.
When he returned to Nigeria, Fela began using his music as a tool for political purposes. He was critical of the government in his home country and argued that African culture should not be submerged by Western sensibilities. He also wrote about social injustices and human rights violations, and was repeatedly arrested for his criticism of the military.
Fela was also a proponent of marijuana in Africa and is referred to as "igbo". He frequently held public discussions at Afrika Shrine, which he referred to as "yabis" where he would lampoon government officials and promote his views on freedom of expression and the beauty of women's bodies. Fela also had a harem of young women who performed in his shows and also served as vocal backups for him.
He was a dancer
Fela was a master at musical fusion. He incorporated elements of jazz, beat music, and highlife into his own distinctive style. He influenced a generation of African musicians and was an outspoken critic of colonial rule.
Despite being tortured and arrested by the Nigerian military junta and seeing his mother be 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 ideals of Pan Africanism. His albums including 1973's Gentleman focused on addressing oppression from both government bodies and colonial parties. He also advocated black power and decried Christianity, Islam and other non-African influences for dividing the people of Africa. Shuffering and Smiling is the title track of an album from 1978. It is about overcrowded public transports filled with working poor people, "shuffering and smiling". Fela was a fierce anti-religious hypocrisy. Fela's music was enhanced by his dancers who were lively elegant, sensual, and beautiful. Their contributions to the performances were as important as the words of Fela.
He was a political activist
Fela Kuti used music as a tool to confront unjust authorities. He adapted his knowledge of American jazz and funk to African patterns and rhythms, creating an ear that was ready for a fight. Most of his songs begin with slow-burning instrumentals, then adding little riffs and long-lined melodies until they explode in a flash of vigor.
Fela was, unlike many artists who were afraid to discuss their political views was unflinching 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 founded Kalakuta Republic - a recording studio and commune that became a symbol of the resistance. The government raided Kalakuta's Republic and destroyed property, as well as injuring Fela. fela case settlements refused to back down, though and continued to voice his opinion against the government. He passed away in 1997 due to complications related to AIDS. His son Femi continues to carry on his political and musical legacy.
He was a father
Music is often seen as a political act with artists using lyrics to demand change. Some of the most powerful music performances are not performed with words. Fela Kuti was one of them, and his music still rings out today. He pioneered Afrobeat, combining traditional African rhythms and harmonies, with funk and jazz, being influenced by artists such as James Brown.
Fela's mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was an activist and unionist who stood up against colonialism. She helped form the Abeokuta Women's Union and fought against gender-discriminatory taxation laws. She also studied marxism and believed in the idea of a Nigeria that was serving its entire population.
Fela's son Seun is continuing his father's legacy through the band Egypt 80 that's touring the world this year. The band's music blends the sounds and politics of Fela's era with a fervent denial of the same power structures that continue to exist in the present. The album, Black Times, will be released in March. A large number of fans attended the funeral and paid tributes at Tafawa Balewa Square. The crowd was so large that police were forced to shut down the entrance to the location.