Fela Kuti

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Fela Kuti
Background information
Birth name	Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti
Also known as	Fela Anikulapo Kuti
Born	October 15, 1938
Origin	Abeokuta, Nigeria
Died	August 2, 1997
Genre(s)	Afrobeat
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, instrumentalist
Instrument(s)	Saxophone, singing, keyboards, trumpet, horn, guitar, drum
Years active	1958 - 1997
Associated acts	Africa '70, Egypt 80, Koola Lobitos, Nigeria '70
Website	felaproject.net

Fela Anikulapo Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, October 15, 1938 - August 2, 1997), or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Music 3 Political views 4 Select discography 5 References 6 Video 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] Biography

Fela Kuti was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria to a middle-class family. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was a feminist active 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. His brothers, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti and Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, were both well known in Nigeria.

Fela relocated to London in 1958 with the intention of studying medicine but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music. While there, he formed the band Koola Lobitos, playing a style of music he called Afrobeat. The style was a fusion of American jazz with West African highlife. In 1961 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 Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. In 1969 Fela took the band to the United States. While there, Fela discovered the black power movement through Sandra Izsadore--a friend 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 were tipped off by a promoter that Fela and his band were in the US without work permits. The band then performed a quick recording session in Los Angeles, which would later be released as "The '69 Los Angeles Sessions".

Fela and his band, renamed "Africa '70" returned to Nigeria. He then formed the Kalakuta Republic, a commune, a recording studio and a home for many connected to the band which he later declared independent from the Nigerian state. Fela set up a nightclub in the Empire Hotel, named the Afro-Spot and then the Shrine, where he performed regularly. Fela also changed his middle name to "Anikulapo" (meaning "he who carries death in his pouch"), stating that his original middle name of Ransome was a slave name. The recordings continued, and the music became more politically motivated. Fela's music became very popular among the Nigerian public and Africans in general. In fact, he made the decision to sing in English so that his music could be enjoyed by individuals all over Africa, where the languages spoken are very diverse and numerous. As popular as Fela's music had become in Nigeria and elsewhere, it was also very unpopular with the ruling government, and raids on the Kalakuta Republic were frequent. In 1974 the police arrived with a search warrant and a cannabis joint, which they had intended to plant on Fela. He became wise to this and swallowed the joint. In response, the police took him into custody and waited to examine his feces. Fela enlisted the help of his prison mates and gave the police someone else's feces, and Fela was freed. He then recounted this tale in his release Expensive Shit.

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 were 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 an army barrack and write two songs, "Coffin for Head of State" and "Unknown Soldier," referencing the official inquiry which claimed the commune had been destroyed by an unknown soldier.

Fela and his band then took residence in Crossroads Hotel as the Shrine had been destroyed along with his commune. In 1978 Fela married twenty seven women, many of whom were his dancers and singers to mark the anniversary of the attack on the Kalakuta Republic. 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. In 1983 he again ran for President but was again attacked by police, who threw him in prison on a dubious charge of currency smuggling. After twenty months, the regime changed once again and Fela was released from prison. On Fela's release he divorced his twelve remaining wives. 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.

His album output slowed in the 1990s, and eventually he stopped releasing albums altogether. This led to rumors that he was suffering from an illness that he was refusing treatment for. It was announced that he died on August 2, 1997 in Lagos, Nigeria and more than a million people attended his funeral. Later, it was revealed that he succumbed to AIDS-related heart failure.

[edit] Music

The musical style performed by Fela Kuti is called Afrobeat, which is essentially a fusion of jazz, funk and Traditional African Chant. It is characterized by having African style percussion, vocals, and musical structure, along with jazzy, funky horn sections. The "endless groove" is also used, in which a base rhythm of drums, muted guitar, and bass guitar are repeated throughout the song. This is a common technique in African and African-influenced musical styles, and can be seen in funk and hip-hop. Some elements often present in Fela's music are the call-and-response with the chorus and figurative but simple lyrics. Fela's songs were almost always over ten minutes in length, some reaching the twenty or even thirty minute marks. This was one of many reasons that his music never reached a substantial degree of popularity outside of Africa. His songs were mostly sung in Nigerian pidgin, although he also performed a few songs in the Yoruba language. Fela's main instruments were the saxophone and the keyboards but he also played the trumpet, horn, guitar and made the occasional drum solo. Fela refused to perform songs again after he had already recorded them, which also hindered his popularity outside Africa. Fela was known for his showmanship, and his concerts were often quite outlandish and wild.

[edit] Political views

The American Black Power movement influenced Fela's political views. He was also a supporter of Pan-Africanism and socialism (although in a 1982 documentary he can clearly be seen rejecting both capitalism and socialism in favour of a third way that he described as Africanism), and called for a united, democratic African republic. He was a fierce supporter of human rights, and many of his songs are direct attacks against dictatorships, specifically the militaristic governments of Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s. He was also a social commentator, and criticized his fellow Africans (especially the upper class) for betraying traditional African culture. The African culture he believed in also included having many wives (polygyny) and the Kalakuta Republic was formed in part as a polygamist colony. Though not part of African culture, it should be noted though that Fela was very open when it came to sex, as he portrayed in some of his songs, like "Open and Close." He also expressed views that could be considered sexist, such as describing women as mattresses.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Select discography

Year	Title	Label
1971	Live ! (with Ginger Baker)	Regal Zonophone / Pathe Marconi
1971	Why Black Man Dey Suffer	EMI / Decca Afrodesia
1972	Stratavarious (with Ginger Baker)	Polydor / Atco
1972	Na Poi	EMI HMV
1972	Open & Close	EMI / Pathe Marconi
1972	Shakara	EMI / Editions Makossa / Pathe Marconi / Creole
1972	Roforofo Fight	Jofabro / Editions Makossa / Pathe Marconi
1973	Afrodisiac	EMI/ Regal Zonophone / Pathe Marconi
1973	Gentleman	EMI / Pathe Marconi / Creole
1974	Alagbon Close	Jofabro / Editions Makossa
1975	Noise for Vendor Mouth	Afrobeat
1975	Confusion	EMI / Pathe Marconi
1975	Everything Scatter	Coconut / Creole
1975	He Miss Road	EMI / Pathe Marconi
1975	Expensive Shit	Soundwork Shop / Editions Makossa
1976	No Bread	Soundwork Shop / Editions Makossa
1976	Kalakuta Show	Kalakuta / Editions Makossa
1976	Upside Down	Decca Afrodisia
1976	Ikoyi Blindness	Africa Music
1976	Before I Jump Like Monkey Give Me Banana	Coconut
1976	Excuse O	Coconut
1976	Zombie	Coconut / Creole / Mercury
1976	Yellow Fever	Decca Afrodesia
1977	Opposite People	Decca Afrodesia
1977	Fear Not For Man	Decca Afrodesia
1977	Stalemate	Decca Afrodesia
1977	Observation No Crime	Decca Afrodesia
1977	Johnny Just Drop (J.J.D Live!! at Kalakuta Republic)	Decca Afrodesia
1977	I Go Shout Plenty	Decca Afrodesia
1977	No Agreement	Decca Afrodesia / Barclay / Celluloid
1977	Sorrow, Tears and Blood	Kalakuta
1978	Shuffering and Shmiling	Coconut / Celluloid
1979	Unknown Soldier	Phonodisk / Uno Melodic
1979	I.T.T. (International Thief Thief)	Kalakuta
1980	Music of Many Colours (with Roy Ayers)	Phonodisk / Celluloid
1980	Authority Stealing	Kalakuta
1981	Black President	Capitol
1981	Original Sufferhead	Lagos International / Arista
1981	Coffin for Head of State	Kalakuta
1983	Perambulator	Lagos International
1985	Army Arrangement	Kalakuta / Celluloid
1986	Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense	Polygram / Barclay
1989	Beasts of No Nation	Kalakuta / Eurobound / Shanachie
1989	O.D.O.O. (Overtake Don Overtake Overtake)	Kalakuta / Shanachie
1990	Confusion Break Bones	Kalakuta
1990	Just Like That	Kalakuta
1992	Underground System	Kalakuta / Sterns

[edit] References

• Idowu, Mabinuori Kayode (2002). Fela, le Combattant. Le Castor Astral. France. 
• Olaniyan,Tejumola (2004). Arrest the Music! Fela and his rebel art and politics. Indiana University Press. USA. 
• Olorunyomi, Sola (2002). Afrobeat: Fela and the Imagined Continent. Africa World Press. ??. 
• Schoonmaker, Trevor (ed) (2003). Fela: From West Africa to West Broadway. Palgrave Macmillan. USA. 
• Schoonmaker, Trevor (ed) (2003). Black President: The Art & Legacy of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. New Museum Of Contemporary Art, New York. ISBN 0-915557-87-8. 
• Veal, Michael E. (1997). Fela: The Life of an African Musical Icon. Temple University Press. USA. 

[edit] Video

• Stephane tchal-Gadjieff & Jean Jacques Flori, Music Is The Weapon 1982, reissued in 2002 by Universal
• Fela In Concert 1981
• Fela Live! Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and the Egypt 80 Band 1981, Recorded Live At Glastonbury, England

[edit] See also

• Afrobeat
• Femi Kuti
• Tony Allen

[edit] External links

• The Shrine Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti and Afrobeat Music. Fan site with interview, gig review and the only forum for Fela Kuti on the web.

• Fela Kuti remembered Biography from the Guardian
• Fela Kuti Lyrics Lyrics & Explanations
• Read the feature about Fela Kuti on Fly
• A linguistic approach to Fela Kuti's lyrics Word-by-word translations of five of Fela's best-known songs
• Biographical entry in the African Music Encyclopedia
• The Fela Kuti project A multimedia project that explores and commemorates the influence of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
• Fela Kuti Discography Large list of Fela's records, both from Koola Lobitos, Africa 70/Egypt 80 and more.
• "Fela Kuti" World Music Legends
• Vibe.com review of Red Hot + Riot
• The Afrofunk Music Forum Blog Daily news, music reviews and commentary on Afrobeat and related music from Africa, The Caribbean and The Americas, often including discussions and information related to Fela Kuti
• Africaman Original Carter Van Pelt's excellent article on Fela, with quotes from Roger Steffens.
• Red Hot + RIOT LIVE! The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti A concert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in honor of World Aids Day