Afrobeat is a music genre that combines aspects of West African musical forms such as Fuji music and Highlife with influences from American jazz plus Soul and Funk, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex overlapping rhythms, and percussion.
Fela Kuti (real name Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti AKA Fela Anikulapo-Kuti) was a Nigerian musician and activist who pioneered the Afrobeats genre, which fused American blues, jazz, and funk with traditional Yoruba music.
Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader, Fela Kuti created the name in the 1960s and is credited with popularizing the style both within and outside Nigeria.
It is #BlackHistoryMonth and this is an awesome opportunity to regard one of the music industry’s greatest legends – Fela Kuti.
Fela Kuti’s Background
Fela Kuti was born in 1938 to Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, his mother was a feminist and labor activist while his father was a reverend. His parents were both respected members of the community; for example, his father was the leader of the Nigerian teachers’ organization in addition to being a reverend pastor.
His mother, a Lenin Peace Prize laureate, was a well-known feminist and human rights activist who was best recognized for fighting British colonialism in Nigeria.
Fela Kuti: The Foundation of Afrobeats
Remarkably, Fela Kuti studied piano and drums as a child before enrolling at Trinity College London to study classical music in 1959. By playing piano in jazz and rock bands in London, he was exposed to a variety of musical styles.
From there, Fela developed a West African musical style that combines fuji, Yoruba, Ghanaian highlife, and American jazz, soul, and funk
When he returned to Nigeria in the mid-1960s, Fela reformed Koola Lobitos, a band he had played with in London. Some musical experiments by that group resulted in the Afro-beat sound.
Even though today, Fela Kuti is widely regarded as the greatest Afrobeat pioneer, he is credited with coining the term for this type of music.
The Nigerian multi-instrumentalist is thought to have drawn a lot of inspiration from Ghanaian highlife musicians, particularly Cape Coast Sugar Babies, E.K. Nyame, King Bruce of the Black Beats, and the “King of Highlife“ music Yebuah Mensah, after visiting the neighboring West African country Ghana in the late 1960s.
Afrobeats as a Political Activism
Fela Kuti‘s music became increasingly politicized after his 1969 tour of the United States, where he was influenced by the politics of Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, and other movements. In songs like “Zombie,” “Monkey Banana,” “Beasts of No Nation,” and “Upside Down,” he called for societal change.
The Afrobeats musician started making songs with themes of black struggle and pride. When Fela returned to Nigeria, his experiences in the United States had also pushed him deeper into the arena of political action.
The band’s name was changed from Koola Lobitos to Fela Ransome Kuti & The Africa ’70, which coincided with major changes in the band’s attitude. Fela Kuti began writing politically charged lyrics critical of the continent’s numerous military regimes in the early 1970s.
Fela also criticized the irreversible impact that European colonial control had on Africans’ economic and social lives throughout his life.
Fela and his band – the Nigeria 70, Africa 70, and subsequently the Egypt 80 – played to sold-out crowds during early-morning concerts held at Fela‘s often-raided nightclub in Lagos.
In 1979, Fela created the Movement of the People, a political party, and ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of Nigeria.
Fela Kuti used Afrobeats to Promote Pan Africanism
Fela Kuti wrote a lot of newspaper columns under the name “Chief Priest Say” to spread his message to a wider audience. The columns were intended to promote African culture and pride among Nigerians, aside from the political overtones.
Moreover, Fela‘s criticism of Islam and Christianity, Nigeria‘s two largest religions, was an attempt to instill in Nigerians a true African culture and religion. “Gentleman” and “J.J.D. (Johnny Just Drop)” are two of his songs that wonderfully represent the aforementioned notion.
Kuti was a strong supporter of Pan-Africanist beliefs, citing Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah and Burkina Faso’s charismatic leader Thomas Sankara as examples.
Many of his songs have also chastised Nigerians for not doing enough to stop European cultural imperialism from spreading.
Fela believed that the Western way of life and foreign religious ideas not only divided the country but also harmed Nigeria‘s socio-economic development.
However, Fela Kuti was sentenced to 20 months in prison for cash smuggling a few years later. He walked away from active political protest after his release, leaving his son, Femi, to carry the Afrobeats flame.
Fela Kuti: The Legend
Fela Kuti was best known for utilizing his Afro-centric music to express his displeasure with the unjust hardships that Africans had to face under despotic and corrupt regimes.
The Broadway musical “Fela!” was produced by Knitting Factory Records (KFR) in 2009. Along with the story of Fela Kuti‘s life, the piece highlighted his “courage and tremendous musical mastery.”
The production was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, with three wins for Best Costumes, Best Sound, and Best Choreography.
Fela! was produced by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Will Smith, and Jada Pinkett-Smith and ran on Broadway for 15 months. Notably, Sandra Izsadore was played by Michelle Williams – a former member of the girl group Destiny’s Child.
Denzel Washington, Madonna, Sting, Spike Lee (who saw it eight times), Kofi Annan, and even Michelle Obama were among the celebs who attended the shows.
The talented multi-instrumentalist, Fela Kuti, is widely regarded as one of Nigeria‘s and Africa‘s most important musical exports, having influenced modern-day Afrobeats artists such as Wizkid (Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun), jazz vocalist Asa (Bukola Elemide), and Burna Boy (Damini Ogulu).
Talk about using music to effect social change? Fela Kuti‘s legacy will always come up!
Fela was born on October 15, 1938, in Abeokuta, Nigeria, and died on August 2, 1997, in Lagos.
You can listen to Fela Kuti’s top tracks here:
