The Legendary

Fela Kuti  

remains, the first " black president". Though, the 'revitalization of his influence' in America feels, somehow, connected to the election of our 44th president. Deeply influenced by the Black Power movement of the 70's, Fela would eventualy become as synonymous with black aspirations world wide as Bob Marley or James Brown.  In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in his music, culminating in a re-release of his Universal Music -controlled catalog. 

Popularizing any art form, that comes with cultural and socio-political strings attached, can be a slippery slope. Recently when I was at a night club, an afro-beat set was played as a video of Fela's famed documentary "Music Is The Weapon" played on a large screen behind the bar. 'Filmed in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1982, this 53-minute documentary mixes footage of Fela Anikulapo Kuti performing at his Shrine nightclub along with interviews with the musician, glimpses of street life in Lagos and at his Kalakuta Republic compound'. It felt good to see it out there in the open for people to appreciate. It gave me hope that Americans may be ready, on some subversive level at least, to acknowledge where we come from. To be curious about it and no longer fearful of what they don't understand. I like the idea of a whole new generation getting acquainted with his political satire, brazen style and fearless pursuit of expression. Although this new interest does leave me with mixed feelings, like white girls wearing  kente cloth.

 I scanned the room to see who was watching the screen. The ones who looked on with pride. And those with the baffled look, which suggested, ''why are we watching national geographic?". For me, keeping it tasteful has everything to do with the way his legacy is presented. Which is why I was so relieved to find that Bill T. Jones was at the helm of the Broadway show in his honor.    

'In 2008, an off-Broadway production of Fela Kuti's life titled Fela! began with a collaborative workshop between the Afrobeat band Antibalas and Tony award winner Bill T. Jones. Critically acclaimed, the show opened to sold out houses during its run. On November 22, 2009, Fela! began a run on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theater. Jim Lewis helped co-write the play (along with Bill T. Jones). Living to see the day that Fela's legacy would grace a Broadway stage is an indication that we live in marvelous times. For better or worse, something about Fela's return to the West feels like the completion of a cycle. The shift in a paradigm, once more.

Try it

seeing is believing go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPIZBcb6hQI

to get up close and personal go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PJmKGBRFvc

to support his legacy go to http://felaonbroadway.com/

More on the Artist

Fela was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria^[2] into a middle-class family. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement and his father, Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, a Protestant minister and school principal, was the first president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers.^[3] His brothers, Beko Ransome-Kuti and Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, both medical doctors, are well known in Nigeria.

Fela was sent to London in 1958 to study medicine but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music. While there, he formed the band Koola Lobitos, playing a fusion of jazz and highlife.^[4] In 1960, Fela married his first wife, Remilekun (Remi) Taylor, with whom he would have three children (Femi, Yeni, and Sola). In 1963, Fela moved back to Nigeria, re-formed Koola Lobitos and trained as a radio producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. He played for some time with Victor Olaiya and his All Stars.^[5] In 1967, he went to Ghana to think up a new musical direction.^[3] That was when Kuti first called his music Afrobeat.^[3] In 1969, Fela took the band to the United States. While there, Fela discovered the Black Power movement through Sandra Smith (now Izsadore)—a partisan of the Black Panther Party—which would heavily influence his music and political views and renamed the band Nigeria '70. Soon, the Immigration and Naturalization Service was tipped off by a promoter that Fela and his band were in the U.S. without work permits. The band then performed a quick recording session in Los Angeles that would later be released as The '69 Los Angeles Sessions.

After Fela and his band returned to Nigeria, the band was renamed to Africa '70 and the lyrical themes changed from love to social issues.^[4] He then formed the Kalakuta Republic, a commune, a recording studio, and a home for many connected to the band that he later declared independent from the Nigerian state. Fela set up a nightclub in the Empire Hotel, named the Afro-Spot and then the Afrika Shrine, where he performed regularly. Fela also changed his middle name to Anikulapo (meaning "he who carries death in his pouch"),^[6] stating that his original middle name of Ransome was a slave name. The recordings continued, and the music became more politically motivated. ^{[citation needed]} Fela's music became very popular among the Nigerian public and Africans in general.^[7] He made the decision to sing in Pidgin English so that his music could be enjoyed all over Africa, where the local languages spoken are very diverse and numerous. As popular as Fela's music was in Nigeria and elsewhere, it was very unpopular with the ruling government, and raids on the Kalakuta Republic were frequent. During 1972 Ginger Baker recorded Stratavarious with Fela appearing alongside Bobby Gass.^[8] 

Around this time, Kuti was becoming more involved in Yoruba religion.^[9] In 1977 Fela and the Afrika '70 released the hit album Zombie, a scathing attack on Nigerian soldiers using the zombie metaphor to describe the methods of the Nigerian military. The album was a smash hit with the people and infuriated the government, setting off a vicious attack against the Kalakuta Republic, during which one thousand soldiers attacked the commune. Fela was severely beaten, and his elderly mother was thrown from a window, causing fatal injuries. The Kalakuta Republic was burned, and Fela's studio, instruments, and master tapes were destroyed. Fela claimed that he would have been killed if it was not for the intervention of a commanding officer as he was being beaten. Fela's response to the attack was to deliver his mother's coffin to the Dodan Barracks in Lagos, General Olusegun Obasanjo's residence, and to write two songs, "Coffin for Head of State" and "Unknown Soldier", referencing the official inquiry that claimed the commune had been destroyed by an unknown soldier.^[10]

Fela and his band then took residence in Crossroads Hotel as the Shrine had been destroyed along with his commune. In 1978 Fela married 27 women, many of whom were his dancers, composers, and singers to mark the anniversary of the attack on the Kalakuta Republic. Later, he was to adopt a rotation system of keeping only twelve simultaneous wives.^[11]The year was also marked by two notorious concerts, the first in Accra in which riots broke out during the song "Zombie", which led to Fela being banned from entering Ghana. The second was at the Berlin Jazz Festival after which most of Fela's musicians deserted him, due to rumors that Fela was planning to use the entirety of the proceeds to fund his presidential campaign.

Despite the massive setbacks, Fela was determined to come back. He formed his own political party, which he called Movement of the People. In 1979 he put himself forward for President in Nigeria's first elections for more than a decade but his candidature was refused. At this time, Fela created a new band called Egypt '80 and continued to record albums and tour the country. He further infuriated the political establishment by dropping the names of ITT vice-president Moshood Abiola and then General Olusegun Obasanjo at the end of a hot-selling 25-minute political screed titled "I.T.T. (International Thief-Thief)".

In 1984, he was again attacked by the military government, who jailed him on a dubious charge of currency smuggling. His case was taken up by several human-rights groups, and after 20 months, he was released from prison by General Ibrahim Babangida. On his release he divorced his 12 remaining wives, saying that "marriage brings jealousy and selfishness."^[11] Once again, Fela continued to release albums with Egypt '80, made a number of successful tours of the United States and, Europe and also continued to be politically active. In 1986, Fela performed in Giants Stadium in New Jersey as part of the Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope concert, sharing the bill with Bono, Carlos Santana, and The Neville Brothers. In 1989, Fela and Egypt '80 released the anti-apartheid Beasts of No Nation album that depicts on its cover U.S. President Ronald Reagan, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and South African Prime Minister Pieter Willem Botha with fangs dripping blood.

His album output slowed in the 1990s, and eventually he stopped releasing albums altogether. The battle against military corruption in Nigeria was taking its toll, especially during the rise of dictator Sani Abacha. Rumors were also spreading that he was suffering from an illness for which he was refusing treatment. On 3 August 1997, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, already a prominent AIDS activist and former Minister of Health, stunned the nation by announcing his younger brother's death a day earlier from Kaposi's sarcoma brought on by AIDS. More than a million people attended Fela's funeral at the site of the old Shrine compound. A new Africa Shrine has opened since Fela's death in a different section of Lagos under the supervision of his son Femi Kuti.

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