Fela: 10 Things I'd Like To Have Known Sooner Fela Kuti

Fela is a man of contradictions. That's what makes him so intriguing. People who love him can forgive his bad sides.

His songs are usually 20 minutes long or longer and are sung in a slurred Pidgin English that is almost unintelligible. His music is influenced primarily by Christian hymns and classical music. He also includes jazz, Yoruba, and highlife with guitars and horns.

He was a musician

Fela Kuti embodied the idea that music is an instrument for change. His music was used to call for social, political and economic reforms. His influence is still evident even today. Afrobeat is a style of music that combines African and Western influences. Its roots are in West-African music and funk. However, it has evolved into a completely new genre.

His political activism was fierce and frightened. He made use of his music to protest against 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 used Kalakuta as a venue to gather like-minded people and to promote political activism.

The production includes a massive portrait featuring his mother, who died in the past Funmilayo ransome-Kuti. She was a prominent feminist and activist. Shantel Cribbs portrays her, and she does a great job of capturing the importance she played in Fela's life. The play also explores her political activism. Despite her declining health, she refused to get checked for AIDS and instead opted for traditional treatment.

He was a musician

Fela Ransome Kuti was a complex person who used music to effect changes in the political landscape. He is known as the originator of afrobeat, an invigorating hybrid of funk, dirty and traditional African rhythms. He was also a constant critic of Nigeria's governmental and religious leaders.

His mother was a suffragist against colonialism So it's not surprising that he has a love for political commentary and social commentary. His parents hoped that he would eventually become a doctor but he had other plans.

A trip to America changed his outlook forever. The exposure to Black power movements and leaders such as Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver would have a profound influence 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 like Stokely Carmichael, and Malcolm X while in the United States. The experience inspired him to create an activist movement known as the Movement of the People, and to write songs that reflected his ideas on political activism and black consciousness. His philosophical ideas were aired through the medium of yabis, an art of public speaking that was referred to as "freedom of expression". He also began to impose 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 snares of police and military officials was almost daily. His Mosholashi-Idi Oro hangers were able to repopulate the area around the club with drugs of all kinds particularly "bana" and "yamuna" (heroin). Fela was a steadfast person despite this. His music is a testimony of his determination to challenge authority and ensuring that the desires of the masses are recognized in official goals. It is an extraordinary legacy that will last 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 mocked his audience as well as the government and himself. During these shows, he referred to himself as "the big dick in the little pond." These jokes were not viewed lightly by the authorities, and he was frequently arrested, imprisonments and beatings at the hands of the authorities. He was eventually given the title Anikulapo which means "he has his death in his pouch."

In 1977, Fela released a song called "Zombie" in which he contrasted soldiers with blind zombies who obeyed orders without any question. The military was offended by this and raided Kalakuta Republic. They burned it down and beat its residents. During the raid, Fela’s mother was thrown from her second-floor through a window.

In the years following 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 beliefs and cultures. He also criticized fellow Africans who sabotaged their country's customs. He stressed the importance of human rights and freedom.

He was a rapper

A saxophonist, trumpeter, 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 form 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 became a political instrument upon his return to Nigeria. He criticised the government of his home country and argued against Western sensibilities that affected African culture. He also wrote about societal inequities and human rights violations and was frequently detained for his criticism of the military.

Fela also sporadically advocated for the use of marijuana, known as "igbo" in Africa. He held "yabis" (public discussions) at Afrika Shrine where he would mock government officials and share his opinions on the freedom of expression as well as the beauty of women's bodies. Fela also had a harem of women in his youth, who performed in his shows and also served as vocal backups for his vocalists.

He was a dancer

Fela was a master of musical fusion, taking elements from jazz, beat music, and highlife to create his own distinctive style. He was a renowned African musician and a vocal critic of colonial rule.

Fela refused to leave, despite being detained and tortured by the Nigerian military junta as as witnessing the murder of his mother. He died in 1997 from AIDS-related complications.

Fela was an activist for the political cause who was critical of the oppressive Nigerian government and believed in the principles of Pan Africanism. His albums, including 1973's Gentleman, focused on the issue of oppression by both colonial and government parties. He also promoted black-power and criticized Christianity, Islam and other non-African influences for dividing the people of Africa. The title track of a 1978 album, Shuffering and Shmiling, describes the overcrowded public buses full of poor people "shuffering and shmiling." Fela was a strong opponent of hypocrisy in religion. fela attorneys of Fela was enhanced by his dancers, who were lively, sensual, and regal. Their contributions to the performance were as significant as Fela's words.

He was a political activist


Fela Kuti was an activist who used music to challenge unjust authority. He steered his knowledge of American jazz and funk towards African modes and rhythms, creating a sound that is braced for battle. Most of his songs begin with slow-burning instrumentals. He layers riffs, long-lined melody lines and other elements until they explode with urgency.

Fela like many artists who were scared to discuss their political views was unflinching and uncompromising. He stood for his beliefs even when it was risky to do so. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was a fervent feminist who led the Nigerian Women's Movement. His father was both a protestant minister, and the teacher's union president.

He also founded Kalakuta Republic, a commune and recording studio that was an emblem of resistance. The government raided Kalakuta's Republic, destroying property and severely injuring Fela. He refused to give up, though and continued to protest against the government. He passed away in 1997 of complications related to AIDS. His son Femi continues to carry 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. However, some of the most effective music-related protests do not use words at all. Fela Kuti is one these artists, and his music still rings today. He was the first to pioneer Afrobeat music, which combines traditional African rhythms and harmony with hip-hop and jazz and was being influenced by artists like James Brown.

Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was Fela's activist mother. She was a unionist and fought colonialism. She helped form the Abeokuta Women's Union and fought against gender-discriminatory taxation laws. She also studied Marxism and believed Nigeria should serve its whole population.

Fela's son Seun is continuing his father's work, with the band Egypt 80 that's touring the world this year. The band's music is a blend of the sounds and political stances of Fela's time with a searing denunciation of the same power structures that persist today. Black Times will be released at the end of March. Many fans attended the funeral in Tafawa Balewa square. The crowd was so huge that police had to block the entrance to the location.