Though only vaguely known in Western music circles, Fela Kuti is perhaps the most key figure in modern African music. Kuti perfected what came to be known as Afrobeat, a genre that combines jazz, funk and traditional African folk and Highlife [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlife] into a thick, jam-band worthy “endless groove.” In 1997, Kuti suffered an AIDS-related death at the age of 59, but his legacy is still alive and well today.
Fela! — a new musical that officially opened at New York’s 37 Arts theater on Sept. 4 ― traces Kuti’s life and with it the evolution of his unique music style. Tony award-winning director and choreographer Bill T. Jones wrote the play, and the band Antibalas, who stand at the epicenter of a burgeoning New York based neo-Afrobeat scene, provide the pulsating beat. Already hailed as a masterpiece by theater critics, the play touches on political upheaval, hedonism and class war.
Despite his reputation as an activist, Kuti will always be best remembered for his rhythms; his bands were known to include up to 30 musicians at a time, and the songs meander endlessly one into another. The style was a precursor to disco and has been influential on several generations of musicians, with strains of it seeping into the music of Ginger Baker (who recorded with Kuti in the ’70s), Roy Ayers, Brian Eno and the Talking Heads. Fast forward to today, and a thriving neo-Afrobeat community is anchored by Kuti’s sons Seun and Femi.
Nigerians and enthusiasts abroad view Kuti in much the same way that many Jamaicans view Bob Marley as their voice of revolution. A polygamist with a small army of wives and children, Kuti was the son of an anti-colonialist mother and a Protestant minister father, and he was an outspoken critic of the Nigerian government’s iron-fisted rule of the country. His words were not in vain — his life was punctuated by instances of extreme violence and imprisonment at the hands of the Nigerian authorities. Kuti’s mother was thrown from a second story window, which later proved fatal, and he suffered a fractured skull at the hands of prison guards. In spite of this, Kuti’s sharp-tongued criticism never let up. Not even after several unsuccessful campaigns for president on behalf of his Movement of the People Party.
Kuti’s was a very inauspicious path towards a monumental music career. Born into a staunchly middle-class family, with brothers chairing posts with the World Health Organization and Nigerian Medical Association, Kuti was on track to follow the same path. While in London to begin medical school, he started his first group, Koola Lobitos. A career in medicine was quickly jettisoned when it became apparent that the band had the potential to jumpstart a movement. Returning to Nigeria, Kuti put together a new version of Koola and began to tour consistently. Most of 1969 was spent touring the United States with Los Angeles as their home base. It was there that Kuti first encountered the Black Panthers and the Black Power movement which would prove to be influential for the rest of his life and career. Almost immediately, the direction of Kuti’s music took on a more serious tone, as the seeds of political upheaval had been sewn in Kuti’s mind. While in L.A., the band recorded an album that is now universally hailed as a masterpiece.
Returning to Africa, Kuti rechristened Koola Lobitos as Nigeria 70 and embarked on the most fruitful and prolific stage of his career. He opened a club, The Shrine, in the Embassy Hotel in Lagos and started a commune, Kalakuta Republic, which sought to live apart from the Nigerian status quo. The band would go on to be re-dubbed as Africa 70, Africa 80 and Egypt 80 (now fronted by Kuti’s son Seun) but the spirit of revolution would never cease.
Kuti’s discography includes over 70 albums — most of them gems. Though many are out of print, some are still readily available. Below are a few well worth tracking down.
Essential Listening:
Live! with Africa 70 and Ginger Baker (Celluloid; 1971)
Afrodisiac (Regal Zonophone; 1973)
Expensive Shit (Editions Makossa; 1975)
I.T.T. (Polygram; 1980)
Check out some 1971 footage shot by and featuring Fela collaborator and former Blind Faith and Cream drummer Ginger Baker: