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Fela Kuti

Fela is a man of contradictions. That's why he's so intriguing. People who love him forgive the parts of him that aren't perfect.

His songs are often 20 minutes or more and are performed in a thick Pidgin English that is almost incomprehensible. His music is influenced primarily by Christian hymns and classical music. He also blends jazz, Yoruba, and highlife with guitars and horns.

He was a musician

Fela Kuti embodied the idea that music can be an instrument for change. His music was used to argue for political, social and economic changes. His influence can be felt today. Afrobeat is a style of music that combines African and Western influences. Its roots are in West-African high-life and funk However, it has since evolved into its own style.





His political activism was ferocious and unflinching. He made use of his music to speak out against corruption in government and human rights violations. Songs such as "Zombie" and "Coffin for the Head of State" were daring criticisms of the Nigerian regime. He also used Kalakuta as a place to gather like-minded people and to encourage political activism.

The play includes a large portrait of his late mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who was a prominent feminist activist and feminist pioneer. Shantel Cribbs plays her, and she does an excellent job of capturing the importance she played in Fela's life. The play also highlights her political activism. Despite her deteriorating health, she refused to get checked for AIDS and instead opted for traditional medicine.

He was a singer

Fela Ransome Kuti was a multifaceted person who used music to effect changes in the political landscape. He is known for creating Afrobeat, a mix of dirty funk with traditional African rhythms. He was a fierce critic of Nigeria's governmental and religious leaders.

Having been raised by an anti-colonial feminist mother and a feminist father, it's not a surprise that Fela had a passion for politics and social commentary. His parents had hoped that he would be a doctor but he had other ideas.

A trip to America changed his life forever. The exposure to Black power movements and the leaders such as Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver would have a profound impact on his music. He adopted a Pan-Africanism ideology, which would guide and inform his later work.

He was a music producer

While in the United States Fela was introduced to Black Power activists such as Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X. This led him to start an activist group known as the Movement of the People and write songs that expressed the ideas he had about political activism and black awareness. His philosophies were publicly expressed through yabis, a form of that he described as 'freedom expression'. He also began to establish an uncompromising code of ethics for his group, which included refusing to receive medicine from Western-trained doctors.

After his return to Nigeria Fela began to build his own club, the Shrine in Ikeja. The snares of military and police officials were almost daily. The Mosholashi-Idi Oro hangers-on who he had re the area around the club with hard drugs, especially the 'yamuna' and 'bana' (heroin). Fela kept his integrity regardless of this. His music is a testament to the determination with which he challenged authority and demanded that the desires of the masses be reflected in official objectives. 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 made fun of his audience, government, and even himself. In these shows, he would refer to himself as "the big dick in the little pond." These jokes were not viewed lightly by the authorities and he was repeatedly detained, imprisonments and beatings at the hands of authorities. He was eventually given the name Anikulapo which means "he carries his body in his purse."

In 1977, Fela recorded a song called "Zombie," which compared soldiers to zombies who were able to follow orders without hesitation. This irritated the military who seized the Kalakuta Republic, burning it down and beating its occupants. In the course of the raid, her mother was thrown from her second-floor window.

In the years following Nigeria's independence, Fela created Afrobeat, a genre of music that blended jazz and native African rhythm. His songs criticised European cultural imperialism and defended African traditional beliefs and cultures. He also criticised fellow Africans for disrespecting the traditions of their homeland. He emphasized the importance of freedom and human rights.

He was a hip-hop artist

A trumpeter, saxophonist and 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 form his unique style of music. After fela law firm to the United States, Fela met Sandra Smith. She was an activist in the Black Power Movement. Her ideas were influential in his work.

After his return to Nigeria, Fela began using his music as a tool for political purposes. He criticized the government of his home country and insisted that African culture should not be submerged by Western sensibilities. He also wrote about societal injustices and human rights abuses, and was repeatedly arrested for his criticism of the military.

Fela was also a fervent advocate of marijuana in Africa and is referred to as "igbo". He often held public debates at Afrika Shrine, also known as "yabis" where he would slam government officials and promote his views on freedom of expression and the beauty of women's bodies. Fela had a harem, an ensemble of young women who performed in his shows as well as backing him vocally.

He was a dancer

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

Fela refused to leave, despite being tortured and arrested by the Nigerian military junta as well as witnessing the murder of his mother. He died of complications due to AIDS in 1997.

Fela was a prominent political activist who opposed the oppressive Nigerian Government and supported the principles 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 decried Christianity and Islam as non-African imports that have been used to divide the people of Africa. The title track on an album released in 1978, Shuffering and Shmiling, describes the over-crammed public busses filled with poor workers "shuffering and smiling." Fela was a strong opponent of hypocrisy in religion. Fela's dancers were also an excellent complement to his music. They were sensual, vibrant, and elegant. Their contributions were just as important as Fela's lyrics.

He was a political activist

Fela Kuti was a militant who used music to challenge unjust authority. He adapts his knowledge of American jazz and funk to African rhythms and modes making a sound that was ready for a fight. Most of his songs begin as slow-burning instrumentals. He layers melodies, riffs, long-lined melodies and other elements until they explode with a sense of urgency.

Unlike many artists, who were afraid to expose their political beliefs, Fela was fearless and unbending. He stood in the cause he believed in even when it was risky. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a prominent 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 commune and recording studio that was a symbol of resistance. The government raided the commune, degrading the property and hurting Fela badly. He refused to give up, though, and continued to speak out against the government. He died of complications from AIDS in 1997. He was succeeded by his son, Femi, who continues to continue his musical and political legacy.

He was a father

Music is often seen by many as a form of political protest. Artists use lyrics to call for a change. Some of the most powerful music demonstrations are not supported by words. Fela Kuti is one the artists mentioned above, and his music still resonates 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 Runsome-Kuti 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 was serving its entire population.

Fela's son Seun continues his father's legacy through a band called Egypt 80 that's touring the world this year. The Egypt 80's music combines the sound of Fela with a scathing denunciation of power structures that still exist in the present. The album, Black Times, will be released in March. A large number of fans attended the funeral and paid respects in Tafawa Balewa Square. The crowd was so large that police had to block the entrance.