The No. One Question That Everyone Working In Fela Needs To Know How To Answer
Fela Kuti
Fela is a man of contradictions. This is what makes him so intriguing. People who love him can overlook his shortcomings.
His songs often run for up to 20 minutes, and are sung in thick, almost incomprehensible Pidgin English. His music is heavily influenced by Christian hymns, jazz, classical music, Yoruba music, chant, and horn-and-guitar heavy highlife.
He was a musician
Fela Kuti embodied the idea that music can be a tool for change. His music was used to advocate for social, political and economic changes. His influence can be present to this day. His style of music, Afrobeat, is a synthesis of African and Western influences. Its roots are in West-African music as well as funk. However, it has evolved into a completely new genre.
His political activism was ferocious and he did it without fear. He used his music as a protest against government corruption and human right abuses. Songs such as "Zombie", "Coffin for the State Head" and others were blatant critiques of Nigeria's regime. He also made use of Kalakuta as a platform to connect with like-minded individuals and to promote political activism.
The play includes a large portrait of his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who was a well-known activist and feminist pioneer. Shantel Cribbs portrays her and she does an excellent job of capturing the importance she played in Fela's life. The play also focuses her political activism. Despite her declining health she was unable to get checked for AIDS and instead opted for traditional treatment.
He was a singer
Fela Ransome-Kuti was a multifaceted musician who used his music to facilitate political change. He is famous for his work on Afrobeat, which is a blend of funk and dirty African rhythms. He was also a fervent critic of Nigeria's governmental and religious leaders.
Fela's mother was a suffragist who was anti-colonial and it's not unusual that he has a passion for social commentary and politics. His parents wanted him to become an ophthalmologist however, he had other plans.
A trip to America changed his outlook forever. The exposure to Black power movements and 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. This led him to create an organization called the Movement of the People and create songs that expressed the ideas he had about activism and black awareness. His philosophies were expressed in public via the way of yabis, which is a form of public speaking is referred to as "freedom of expression". He also began to impose a strict ethical code for his band, such as refusing to receive medicine from Western-trained doctors.
After returning to Nigeria Fela began to build his own club, the Shrine in Ikeja. Police and military officials were almost constant. His Mosholashi-Idi Oro hangers repopulated the area surrounding the club with hard drugs, especially "bana" and "yamuna" (heroin). Fela was a steadfast person regardless of this. His music is a testament to the determination with which he fought authority and demanded that the popular will be reflected in official objectives. It is an amazing legacy that will endure for generations to be.
He was a poet
Fela's music used sarcasm and humor to draw attention to the political and economic issues in Nigeria. He also mocked his audience, the government, and himself. In these shows, he referred to himself as "the big fish in the small pond." These jokes were not accepted lightly by the authorities and he was frequently arrested and beatings in the hands of authorities. He eventually adopted the name Anikulapo which translates to "he has death in his pouch."
In 1977, Fela recorded a song called "Zombie," which compared soldiers to zombies who were able to follow orders without hesitation. The military was offended by the song who seized the Kalakuta Republic, burning it down and beating its occupants. During the raid, Fela’s mother was thrown from her second-floor by the window.
Fela developed Afrobeat in the years that followed Nigeria's independence. Afrobeat is a music genre that combines jazz and indigenous African rhythm. His songs criticised European cultural imperialism, and he favored traditional African traditions and religions. He also criticized fellow Africans who sabotaged their country's traditions. He emphasized the importance of freedom and human rights.
He was a rapper
Fela Anikulapo Kuti, a saxophonist and trumpeter, was born in Abeokuta in 1938. He is a pioneer in Afrobeat music. He was inspired by jazz, rock, and roll, as well as traditional African music, chants, and music. After fela lawyer to the United States, Fela met Sandra Smith. She was an activist in the Black Power Movement. Her ideas influenced his work.
After his return to Nigeria, Fela began using his music as a political tool. He criticised the government of his home country and also argued against Western sensibilities that affected African culture. He also wrote about social injustices and human rights abuses and was often detained for his criticism of the military.
Fela was also a fervent advocate of marijuana in Africa that is also known as "igbo". He also held "yabis" (public discussions) at Afrika Shrine where he would mock government officials and share his opinions on freedom of expression and beauty of women's bodies. Fela also had an entourage of young women who performed in his shows and also served as vocal backups to his vocalists.
He was a dancer
Fela was a master at musical fusion. He combined elements of jazz, beat music, and highlife into his own distinctive style. He influenced generations 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 killed, Fela refused to leave the country. He died of complications due to AIDS in 1997.
Fela was a prominent political activist who opposed the oppressive Nigerian Government and endorsed the principles Pan Africanism. His albums, including 1973's Gentleman focused on the oppression of both government and colonial parties. He also promoted black power and criticized Christianity and Islam as non-African imports, which have been used to divide the people of Africa. Shuffering and Smiling is the title track of a 1978 album. It is about overcrowded public buses full of people who are poor, "shuffering and smiling". Fela was a fierce enemy of religious hypocrisy. His dancers were an excellent complement to his music. They were vivacious, sensual, and elegant. Their contributions to the performances were as significant as the words of Fela.
He was an activist for the political cause.
Fela Kuti used music as a weapon to challenge oppressive authorities. He adapts his knowledge of American jazz and funk to African patterns and rhythms making a sound that was ready for fight. Most of his songs begin as slow instrumentals, gradually adding small riffs and melodies until they explode in a flash of vigor.
Fela like many artists who were afraid to discuss their political views, was fearless and unbending. He stood for his beliefs even when it was risky to do so. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was a feminist who was the leader of the Nigerian Women's Movement. His father was both a protestant minister and the head of the teachers' union.
He also founded Kalakuta Republic - a recording studio and commune that became an emblem of the resistance. The government seized the commune, degrading the property and injured Fela badly. He refused to give up however, and continued to speak out against the government. He died in 1997 from complications related to AIDS. His son Femi continues to carry his legacy of music and politics.
He was a father
Music is often viewed by many as a political act. Artists use lyrics to call for a change. But some of the most powerful music-related protests don't rely on words in any way. Fela Kuti is one these artists, and his music still rings today. He was the first to pioneer Afrobeat music, which blends traditional African rhythms and harmonies with jazz and hip-hop that 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 was a Marxist and believed that Nigeria should serve its whole 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 band's music blends the music and politics of Fela's day with a searing denunciation of the same power structures that are still in place today. 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 large that police had to block the entrance to the location.