The No. 1 Question Everyone Working In Fela Must Know How To Answer Fela Kuti

The life of Fela is full of contradictions, which is part of what makes him fascinating. People who love him accept the flaws in him.

His songs are usually 20 minutes or more 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 that music can be a powerful tool to influence the world. His music was used to advocate for social, political and economic change. His influence can be present even today. His musical style, Afrobeat, is a synthesis of 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 intense, and he acted without fear. He made use of his music to protest against corruption in the government and human rights violations. Songs like "Zombie" and "Coffin for the Head of State" were provocative criticisms of the Nigerian regime. He also made use of Kalakuta as a venue to gather like-minded people and to promote political activism.

The play features a huge portrait featuring his mother, who died in the past Funmilayo ransome-Kuti. She was a well-known feminist and activist. Shantel Cribbs plays her, and she does a fantastic job of capturing the importance she played in Fela's life. The play also highlights on her political involvement. Despite her declining health she refused to undergo tests for AIDS. Instead, she chose traditional medicine.

He was a singer

Fela Ransome Kuti was a complex individual who used music to effect political change. He is credited as the creator of afrobeat. It was an invigorating hybrid of funk, dirty and traditional African rhythms. He was a fervent critic of Nigeria's governmental and religious leaders.

His mother was a suffragist who was anti-colonial and it's not surprising that he has a love for social commentary and politics. His parents wanted him to be medical doctor however, he had other plans.

A trip to America changed his perspective forever. The exposure to Black power movements and the leaders like Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver would have a profound influence on his music. He adopted a Pan-Africanism ethos, which would influence and inform his later work.

He was a songwriter

While in the United States Fela was introduced to Black Power activists such as Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X. 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 political activism and black consciousness. His philosophy was expressed publicly through yabis, a form of public speaking that he called 'freedom expression'. He also started to impose an ethical code of conduct on his band. fela lawyer included refusing to accept medication from Western-trained physicians.

Fela returned to Nigeria and began to build his own club in Ikeja. Police and military officials were almost all the time. The Mosholashi-Idi Oro hangers-on who he had re the area surrounding the club with hard drugs, particularly 'bana' and 'yamuna' (heroin). Fela maintained his integrity regardless of this. His music demonstrates the determination with which he challenged authority and demanded that the desires of the masses be reflected in official goals. It is an extraordinary legacy that will last for generations to be.

He was a poet

Fela's music utilized sarcasm as well as humor to draw attention to political and economic issues in Nigeria. He also poked fun at his audience, government officials, and even himself. During these shows, he would refer to himself as "the big dick in the pond with a little." These jokes were not accepted lightly by the authorities, and he was repeatedly detained and imprisonments, as well as beatings at the hands of authorities. He eventually took the name Anikulapo, meaning "he has death in his pocket."

In 1977, Fela released a song called "Zombie" in which he compared soldiers to mindless zombies who followed orders without question. The military was irritated by this and seized Kalakuta Republic. They burned the place down and beat its inhabitants. During the raid, Fela’s mother was thrown from her second-floor apartment through a window.

In the decades following Nigeria's independence, Fela created Afrobeat, the genre of music that blended jazz with native African rhythm. His songs attacked European cultural imperialism and defended traditional African beliefs and cultures. He also criticized fellow Africans who violated their country's traditions. He emphasized the importance of human rights and freedom.

He was a hip-hop artist

A trumpeter, saxophonist, composer, and pioneer of the Afrobeat genre, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was born in 1938 in Abeokuta, Nigeria. He grew up with jazz and rock and roll, as well as traditional African music and chants which helped shape his unique style of music. After his trip to the United States in 1969, Fela met Sandra Smith, an activist from the Black Power movement, and her ideas impacted his work dramatically.

Fela's music was a political instrument upon his return to Nigeria. He was critical of the government in his country of birth and argued that African culture should not be submerged by Western sensibilities. He also wrote about societal inequities and human rights violations and was frequently 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 mock government officials and spread his views regarding freedom of expression and the beauty of women's body. Fela had an harem, which was an ensemble of young women who performed in his shows, and also backed his vocally.

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 influenced a generation of African musicians and was a vocal critic of colonial rule.

Despite being tortured and arrested by the Nigerian military junta, and witnessing his mother murdered, Fela refused to leave the country. He died in 1997 of AIDS-related complications.

Fela was a political activist who was a critic of 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 pushed for black power and criticised Christianity and Islam as non-African influenced religions that were used to divide the people of Africa. Shuffering and Smiling is the title track of an album from 1978. It describes overcrowded public buses full of working poor people, "shuffering and smiling". Fela was a fierce enemy of religious hypocrisy. His dancers were an excellent complement to his music. They were sensual, vibrant, and regal. Their contributions were just as important as Fela's words.

He was a militant in the political arena.


Fela Kuti utilized music as a weapon to confront unjust authorities. He made use of his knowledge of American jazz and funk to African styles and rhythms, resulting in music that is ready for battle. Most of his songs begin with slow-burning instrumentals. He layers melodies, riffs, long-lined melodies and other elements until they explode with a sense of urgency.

Fela like many artists who were scared to discuss their political beliefs, was fearless and unbending. He stood up for his beliefs even when it was dangerous to do so. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was a feminist leader of the Nigerian Women's Movement. His father was a protestant minister, and the head of the teachers' union.

He also founded Kalakuta Republic - a recording studio and commune that became a symbol of the resistance. The government raided the commune, degrading the property and hurting Fela badly. He refused to back down, though and continued to voice his opinion against the government. He died from complications of AIDS in 1997. His son Femi continues to carry on his political and musical legacy.

He was a father

Music is often viewed by many as a political action. The lyrics of musicians are used to demand change. Some of the most powerful musical demonstrations are not supported by words. Fela Kuti is one of the artists mentioned above, and his music still is heard today. He was the first to pioneer Afrobeat which combines traditional African rhythms and harmonies with funk and jazz in the style of artists like James Brown.

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Fela's maternal grandmother was a militant 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 a Nigeria that served its the entire population.

Fela's son Seun is continuing his father's legacy, through a band called Egypt 80 that's touring the world this year. The music of Egypt 80 combines the sounds of Fela with a sharp critique of the power structures that exist today. Black Times will be released at the end March. Many fans attended the funeral and paid respects in Tafawa Balewa Square. The crowd was so big, that the police had to block the entrance.