write the biography of fela anikulapo kuti

(1938-1997)

Who Was Fela Kuti?

Beginning in the 1960s, Fela Kuti pioneered his own unique style of music called "Afrobeat." Rebelling against oppressive regimes through his music came at a heavy cost. Kuti was arrested 200 times and endured numerous beatings, but continued to write political lyrics, producing 50 albums before he died on August 2, 1997, in Lagos, Nigeria.

Early Years

Musician and political activist Fela Kuti was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti on October 15, 1938, in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Kuti was the son of a Protestant minister, Reverend Ransome-Kuti. His mother, Funmilayo, was a political activist.

As a child, Kuti learned piano and drums and led his school choir. In the 1950s, Kuti told his parents that he was moving to London, England, to study medicine, but wound up attending the Trinity College of Music instead. While at Trinity, Kuti studied classical music and developed an awareness of American jazz.

Songs: Activism Through Music

In 1963, Kuti formed a band called Koola Lobitos. He would later change the band's name to Afrika 70, and again to Egypt 80. Beginning in the 1960s, Kuti pioneered and popularized his own unique style of music called "Afrobeat." Afrobeat is a combination of funk, jazz, salsa, Calypso and traditional Nigerian Yoruba music. In addition to their distinctive mixed-genre style, Kuti's songs were considered unique in comparison to more commercially popular songs due to their length—ranging anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour long. Kuti sang in a combination of Pidgin English and Yoruba.

In the 1970s and '80s, Kuti's rebellious song lyrics established him as political dissident. As a result, Afrobeat has come to be associated with making political, social and cultural statements about greed and corruption. One of Kuti's songs, "Zombie," questions Nigerian soldiers' blind obedience to carrying out orders. Another, "V.I.P. (Vagabonds in Power)," seeks to empower the disenfranchised masses to rise up against the government.

In 1989, three years after touring the United States, Kuti released an album called Beasts of No Nation . The album cover portrays world leaders Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan (among others) as cartoon vampires baring bloody fangs.

Rebelling against oppressive regimes through his music came at a heavy cost to Kuti, who was arrested by the Nigerian government 200 times, and was subject to numerous beatings that left him with lifelong scars. Rather than abandon his cause, however, Kuti used these experiences as inspiration to write more lyrics. He produced roughly 50 albums over the course of his musical career, including songs for Les Negresses under the pseudonym Sodi in 1992.

Personal Life

Kuti was a polygamist. A woman named Remi was the first of Kuti's wives. In 1978, Kuti married 27 more women in a single wedding ceremony. He would eventually divorce them all. Kuti's children with Remi included a son, Femi, and daughters Yeni and Sola. Sola died of cancer not long after her father's death in 1997. All three offspring were members of the Positive Force, a band they founded in the 1980s.

Kuti died of AIDS-related complications on August 2, 1997, at the age of 58, in Lagos, Nigeria. Roughly 1 million people attended his funeral procession, which began at Tafawa Balewa Square and ended at Kuti's home, Kalakuta, in Ikeja, Nigeria, where he was laid to rest in the front yard.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Fela Kuti
• Birth Year: 1938
• Birth date: October 15, 1938
• Birth City: Abeokuta
• Birth Country: Nigeria
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Musician and activist Fela Kuti pioneered Afrobeat music and was repeatedly arrested and beaten for writing lyrics that questioned the Nigerian government.
• Civil Rights
• World Politics
• Astrological Sign: Libra
• Trinity College of Music
• Nacionalities
• Death Year: 1997
• Death date: August 2, 1997
• Death City: Lagos
• Death Country: Nigeria

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Fela Kuti Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/fela-kuti
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: June 11, 2020
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
• If you see me strictly as a musician it's okay. I don't want to say that it is wrong to see me that way. I don't want to say that it is right to see me that way. I want to leave everything to the individual to see me the way they think is right. That's the best way.
• If rascality is going to get us what we want, we will use it; because we are dealing with corrupt people, we have to be rascally with them.

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FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI

• October 17, 2024

Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 — 2 August 1997), was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.

Fela was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria 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.

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. In 1963, Kuti formed a band called Koola Lobitos. He would later change the band’s name to Afrika 70, and again to Egypt 80.  He moved back to Nigeria, re-formed Koola Lobitos and trained as a radio producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation.

His politically charged songs, which decried oppression by Nigeria’s military government, prompted authorities to routinely raid his club, looking for reasons to jail him. Fela also set up a communal compound, which he proclaimed the independent Kalakuta Republic. As head of the commune, he often provoked controversy and attracted attention by promoting indulgence in sex, polygamy (he married 27 women). A 1977 raid on the complex by Nigerian authorities resulted in his brief incarceration and the death of his mother the following year due to complications from a fall. In exile in Ghana in 1978, he changed his name from Ransome to the tribal Anikulapo.

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.

Five years later he was jailed for 20 months on charges of currency smuggling. Upon his release, he turned away from active political protest and left his son, Femi, to carry the torch of Afro-beat music. Fela was jailed again in 1993 for murder, but the charges were eventually dropped.

Fela thought that the most important thing for Africans to fight is European cultural imperialism. He was a supporter of Pan-Africanism and socialism, and called for a united, democratic African republic.

He died as a result of complications from AIDS.

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ANIKULAPO-KUTI, Fela

[email protected]

Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, Yeni Kuti, Sola Kuti, Omosalewa Anikulapo Kuti, Kunle Anikulapo Kuti, Motunrayo Anikulapo Kuti

7, Gbemisola Street, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos.

The Message In the Myth (Femi Osofisan). Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was not born into your typicalwell-to-do Yoruba family. His mother was an outspoken feminist and considered radical for her time, while his father was a renowned educationist and Anglican priest. Never theless, for him, as well as for his contemporaries, the white man’s ways were superior and sacrosanct; the Lawwasjust, becauseit protected property and the rich who owned them; all a man needed for suc cess,wassimplytoconformand behavehimself. Suc cess for a musician meant fame and glamour, money andrespectability. Fela was what could becalled an ideological innocent. Though the Biafran War had started inearnest, with atrocities accumulatingon both sides. Fela the musician felt totally distant from it. In his own words, “… at that time, when the war was goingon,Iwasn’tpoliticallymindedat all.Imademy comments as a citizen. I was just another musician playing with Koola Lobitosand singing love songs, songs about rain…. What did I know?*’ The really meaningful period in which he built for himselfa conscious, messianic image did not be gin until 1969. By then, Fela had been more than 10 years in the world ofmusic. He had been to London and studied music; he had returned and tried to set up a band called the Koola Lobitos. Frustrated, he had left for Ghana, only to return again, defeated. He then left for America, and it was there he had his political awakening. It was in Los Angeles where he met Sandra. She had been active in the then explosive Black rights movement, and she opened up a totally new world for the musician from Africa. Her credentials were perfect because she was generous and courageous; because she had suffered from police brutality and even imprisonment, but had remained steadfast in her fight for justice; but above all. because she was bril liant and informed. Her effecton Fela was overwhelm ing. Describing the process ofhis transformation af ter one evening ofarguments, Fela said “. . .1 must have said something because she said, ‘Fela, don’t say that. Africans taught the white man. Look, the Africans have history.” I said, ‘They don’t have . .•. no history, man. We are slaves.” She got up and brought me a book. She said that I should read it And that was the beginning. “Sandra gave me the education I wanted,. .. she’s the one who spoke to me about Africa. For the firsttime, Iheard things I’d never heard before about Africa.” This marked the genesis ofthe myth. The newknowledge thatFelaacquired, hewouldtry hence forth to translate into the medium of music. He would setawholegeneration ablaze,andbecausesuch fires ofenlightenment haddangerous implications forthose within and without, who would rather keep Africa enslaved,singing senselesshosannahs, Fela hadun wittingly turnedhimselfintoa markedman. “I came back home with the intent to change the whole system. I didn’t know I was going to have … such horrors!Ididn’t know they were gonna give me suchoppositionbecause ofmynewAfricanism. How could I have known? As soon as I got back home, I started to preach … and my music did start chang ing,accordingto howIexperienced the lifeandcul ture ofmy people.” The lessons of Sandra had been internalized. The nextstep was to find a new and appropriate mode of musicto expressthisnew awareness. Clearly,the imi tationsofjazzandhighlife oftjieKoolaLobitos would not do. Neither would the usual soporific lyrics of pop music. The now enlightened musician looked around for a new source ofinspiration. James Brown and Victor Olaiya were passe, obsolete gods. Fela searched for something more ancient and yet more modern, closer to Africa and more authentic, yet devoid of cheap exoticism. That was when he recalled his experience in London, and found a model, at last, in the music of Ambrose Campbell, that genius who has influenced more than a generation of African musicians. He took Ambrose Campbell’s music, did his ownmagicalcocktailwith it,by mixing itwith piano andtrumpet, and with chant, rather than song; he had found a new exciting beat. Though its first ‘outing’ wasdoneatthedecrepitCitadelde HaitiClub,runby the then unknown Bernie Hamilton on Sunset Boul evard, the immediate, warm response of the audi ence, was sufficient confirmation that a new and ex citingsoundwasinthe making. Thusitwasthat Afro- beat wasborn,and Felahad begunhisjourney back home. Allthesame, the final political transformation of Afro-beat did not begin till Fela’s return to Lagos in 1973. Once at home, he embarked straight-away on a kind of radical Black evangelism. First, he changed the name of his band and of his club. The ‘Koola Z.o6/7o.s’thus became ‘Africa’70’ (“to look forward to the future, to the coming decade”, and Afrospot be came ‘The Shrine’. “I wanted some place meaning ful,” he said to Carlos; “… progressive, mindful of background with roots. I didn’t believe playing any more in night clubs.” The result was an instantaneous hit with the Nigerian audience. Within a year oftheir arrival, the ‘Africa ’70’ had become the leading band in Lagos, especially for the young, and TheShrine, the leading club, where you not only listened to good music, but also to Fela’s yabbis, a nightly exhortation on Black history, politics, andculture.Felawasseekingtochange the minds of his colonized compatriots, just as his own mind had been radicalized in that fruitful en counter with Sandra. That was the beginning of his trouble with the authorities. In Nigeria, power has always been, since independence at least, in the hands ofa certain elite, made up ofmen who got their wealth through being the local agents ofwhite companies. Fela’s message, that we should stop serving the white man, that we should develop our own Black resources instead, was a direct threat to this ruling class. His message, that we should turn away from the colonial religions, be cause they had been and were still the instruments of enslaving our minds, turned the numerous Christians and Moslems against him. His message finally, that men should be free, and that uninhibited sex was a natural and joyful ex pression ofthat freedom, frightened parents, teachers and priests. In short Fela had come to challenge the system,and the system has always had itspolice ready to crush such challenges. With unprecedented savagery, the ruling class launched its forces against the rebels of the Shrine. On 30 April 1974 came the first ofthe nu merous police attacks on the Shrine. “Oooooooh!” recalls Fela, “I was beaten by police!so much . . . How can a human being stand so much beating with clubs and not die?” The irony of it was in fact, that the attack, brutal as it was, was to prove mild, com pared with future assaults. The Shrine would be re peatedly raided, andthemembers ofthe’Africa ’70’ jailed, brutalized andmaimed. The place, however, went on irrepressibly, (even changing its name to Kalakuta Republic), until that fateful day in 1977, whenthe military junta in Lagossent athousand sol diers to raze it. The details ofthat savage incident are well known and too frightful to be repeated here. Nevertheless, the spiritof The Shrine didnot die. Thebrutal andrepeated persecution ofFelaand The Shrine bytheauthorities helped to raise his name to the level ofmyth. Hebecame theunderdog and their victims were celebrated as martyrs in face of the sav age attack by the power of the State. The military found that, though they had power to crush bones and burn houses, they could not as much as dent the indomitable spirit ofFela and his followers. It was a memorable expression ofthat defiance and indomitable courage that took place on 30 Sep tember 1979, the day before Obasanjo handed power over to the civilians. Fela and his people defied all the guards to lay the coffin of his mother right on the door step ofDodan Barracks, a statement ofthe ulti mate futility of state power over the liberty of the human mind. We have gone into this long background his tory because it is vital to an understanding ofthe con text in which Fela’s songs were composed. A full ap preciation will be impossible, and many ofthe com positions may well be misunderstood, unless this im portant point is taken into account; that most ofhis songs were songs ofresistance. As such, they were mainly written for the mo ment,for their maximum immediate impact, in order to have instanteffect on an existing malpractice, or to protect against a current act of injustice. They were thus, doubly courageous, in that their targets of at tack were usually men in the saddle of power at the time, who had sufficient authority and viciousness to unleash their forces against their critics. Fela’s lyrics were protests, composed mainly for the pleasure ofthe common man on the street, hence they had the fragility and brittleness ofpopular folk art. They relied heavily on street lingo and jargons; on pidgin English, and the current vulgarizations of working classes; the message was direct, simple and clear. Bourgeois art, which is written in moments of calm and contemplation, can afford to dwell on ex tended metaphors, on finely distilled images and ex pressions ofbeauty, its effect being meant to be ever lasting. The popular artiste like Fela, however, is a man in a hurry – he has to earn his living, he has his audience right before him, with their varied and chang ingtastes, and the many forms oftheir daily persecu tion. His art cannot afford the luxury of extensive polishingand distillation.Fela’s music, thus, appeals tothemiddleand upperclassesonlymarginally. They complain of its abrasiveand unmelodious tunes, of his excessive preaching. These complaints are not shared by the common people, however, who see in the artiste, their only authentic voice. His lyrics may notbe rich in poetry, buttheyare relevant to hisaudi ence and serve as reminders of the horror their lives have been reduced to. Itisthuspossible, simplybylistening to Fela’s songs, tocompile a list ofallthemajor crises ofthe past decade, as they affected the common peop/e. His first ‘hit’ on his return home,Jeun Ko Ku (Eat and Die), like the three other albums released the same year, Why Black Man Dey Suffer, Open and Close, and Life with Ginger Baker, immediately announced Fela’s revolt against the ruling class and against the prevailing conventions ofourneo-colonial society. All the themesthathe subsequentlyex plored throughout the turbulent ’70’s, are found in those four albums. His criticism ofthecorrupt military regime, then underGowon, had begun; for instance: “Chopandquench, He has come: He has eaten up everything… Thief,help chase himaway DebtorIdrive himfrom myhome…” As can be seen, however, the attack at this stagewasstill indirectand muted.Formostpeople, theattraction of thealbum was in its music, its novel arrangement andsyncopation, the warm throaty vo cals and the humorous tone ofthe lyrics. The time was coming, however, when Fela would be less oblique. The next album, WhyBlackManDey Suffer, was the first of the series Fela would do on his new found ideologyof’blackism’ andpan-Africanism, as oncedefined by Nkrumah. This was Fela’sabiding concern throughout his career: the need for black men to shed their colonized mentalities and recover their own authentic culture; to stop aping the whites and to come together as one continent and one people. Fela pursued this theme relentlessly, at once blazing away at our post-colonial complexes {Gentleman, He Miss Road; JJD; Colonial Mentality; Yellow Fever, Mr. Follow Follow etc), and simultaneously exhorting the superior virtues of blackism {Africa-Centre of the World; Blacks Got To Be Free, Black Man’s Cry etc). Fela talked about the danger ofthe ‘colonial religions’; how we have allowed them to blind us and kill our minds. We go on praying and praying, while the problems ofpoverty remain. One ofhis bestrecords isthus entitled ShufferingandShmiling, (1978). 0 Religion, the opiumof the people, makes us smile and endure our sufferings, whereas the real thing is not to endure, but to combat the source of suffering, and to challenge the priests who are not sufferingat all, butget rich on our sufferings. Fela sang against elitism {IkoyiBlindness, OppositePeople, Equalization ofTrouserandPant), against lopsided planning, and the betrayal ofthose in the positionofresponsibility. Listento him inOrigi nalSufferhead. Fela’s concern was always for the poor and thedown-trodden, and his message to them was that they must rise up and seize their rights. They must always be ready to denounce corrupt leaders. His most frequent theme is the tyranny of power. An unbroken victim of police and army sadism, Fela has recorded his experience in a number of memorable albums. Future historians will have more than a dozen of Fela’srecordsto judgethemilitaryrule. Eachtitle isa grim testimony ofofficial terror:Alagbon Close, Zombie, Soldier, Vagabonds In Power, Authority Stealing, Coffin for Head ofState, etc. Greater than this brutality, however, and greaterthanthis spectre ofhorror,isthe undyingvoice of resistanceFela’s voice- aftereach raid, rising upagain andagain to call for change and the refusal of fear: Heyyyy-ah!Heeeeaaaah!Everybodydeyrun run. Everybodyscatter scatter… Police dey come, armydey come.Confusion everywhere… Several minutes later all don cool down. Brother Police don go away.Armydondisappear. Dem leave sorrow, tears andblood, theirregulartrade mark… Fela is not unmindful ofthe fact that the authori tiesareabletoperpetuatetheiratrocitiesbecausepeo ple are alwaystoo terrified to act. They hold on so much to empty, mundane things, that they forsake their manhood. It is in such circumstances that op pression thrives. My people self dey fear too much Dem dey fearfor de thing we no see. Dem dey fear for the air around us. We jear.to fight for freedom. We fear to fight for progress. We always get reasons to fear. We no wan die. Weno wan quench. My mama dey for house,my pickin dey for house.I get one wife, I get one car. I get one car, I get one house. I jus’marry. So policeman go slap your face, you no go talk. Army man go whip your yansh. You go dey look like donkey… Dem leave sorrow, tears and blood, dem regular trade mark Fela’s lyrics were always full ofpunch and they addressed the major prpblems ofthe moment directly. Towards his death, however, his voice had startedto growfaint;hisvoice seemedto havelostits fire, to be fading into silence. What could have been the reason for this? Some have attributed it to weariness. When a messiah chants in vain for years on the mountain, some day, he must face the reality offailure and flee into retreat. Was Fela’s growing silence due to the despairhe felt at the fact thatthe situation ofsqualor and underdevelopment has only changed for the worse? It is hard to say, but this would be out of characterwith Fela’s noted courageand persistence. In Carlos Moore’s book, he suggests thatthe musician was becoming increasingly involved in mysticism, – a consequence of his mother’s death – and in turning inwards, perhaps he felt the need to with draw. There are perhaps more fundamental reasons why the Fela myth could only end in a cul-de-sac. Protest, like all fires, must die out at some time unless they are channelled towards some kind ofpositive action. Without disciples who went out and established Ap ostolic missions, the Christian faith could not have endured. Likewise Fela’s numerous confrontations with governments etc., are testimonies of protest and anger, but they lead to no solid ideology; they give no concrete proposal about how to restructure our societies. Blackism, pan-Africanism, are not ideologies, but belong more to the area ofethics. It is just that, faced with the numerous problems of daily existence, people tend in the end to relegate to the back ground, problems that relate to morals. They turn to the priest of pop, but only for temporary relief; they cuddle their myths, but only for the time of dreaming; when the day breaks, the people return to their former state. THE LEGENDARY HIGHLIFER by (Benson Idonije) Afro-beat icon,Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, made a lot ofmusic in his lifetime. Ifyou were an ardent listener to radio in the early six ties, you would have heard on the airwaves, songs like BonfoFere, LobitosSpeciallegendary highlife music recorded on R.K label as singles – in the style ofVictorOlaiya. If you were in Lagos in the mid-sixties as a young man, and you pub-crawled like most of us, you would have been treated to the plethora ofprogressive highlife, super imposed on jazz. These sessions later translated to recorded melodies such as Ololufe, Yese, Arabas, Delight, Oloruka, Ojo to su, Onidodo, Ajo,Abiara, Omuti, Oniwayoamongothers, most ofwhich formed Fela’s over33 records. Ifyou followed his musical career inthe seventies, you would have been exposed to the golden years of’Afro-beat’ which began with JeunKo Kit, but later featured such hits asLady Yel low Fever, Expensive Shit, Zombi, AuthoritySteal ingamong others. The eighties experienced a depar ture from this overtly commercial music – as exem plified by Beast ofnonationand other compositions -whilethe nineties mellowed him down to the com plexities of Confusion breakbone, Customs Check point, ODOO’ and the like, which he referred to as classical African music. Up till the time he died in August 1997, the icon never stopped beating out sounds with unabashed gusto. Despite this progressively adventurous development, a school of thought still believes that the most musical aspect of Fela’s career remains the Jazz-oriented highlife period of the sixties. And they might be justified in their preference. Looking at Fela’s musical career from the very beginning till 1997 when he passed on, it is obvious that the music developed progressively with the dynamics of our cultural evolution. Fela exemplified an artiste who never stopped experimenting with new ideasand exploiting new musical complexities. This was why he was relevantthroughout his lifetime. Atthe timehereleasedhis initialsinglesaround 1961, even though the style was basically Victor Olaiya’s style, the music displayed evidence ofprogressiveness. Itwasmoreprogressivethanthe highlife of Ghana’sStarguzen,Globekings, andeven the early Uhuru Dance Band led at the time by Nigerian’s Sammy Obot, a fine trumpet player who has since gone into musical oblivion. These were three ofthe bands which exhibited concrete potential in terms of modernorchestral structuring. Before his return to Nigeria in 1963, he had already established the foundation for hisjazzgroup inLondon, with West Indians and English artistes as sidemen. The album was never actually released, but he brought a white label version ofthe band’s record ing to Nigeria which was aired a number oftimes on the NBCJazz club programme which I presented at the time. In addition to the numerous highlife numbers he performed in the sixties – most ofwhich were not recorded because he was not encouraged to continue inthat direction by his famous American tour of1969 – he also did soul music. This was because of the pressures mounted on him by members ofthe audi ence at liveshows – fans who had been won over by Geraldo Pino’s music which was in the James Brown tradition. He was not prepared to compromise his musicforsome foreignfadwhose relevance was bound to disappear within a short time, but he used the opportunity to demonstrate his composing and arranging power. As a composer, he came up with a tune called Homecoming,a soul-rock arrangement which he gave powerful vocal and big band treatment. Another song he played at Sunday jumps and night club dates when the audience asked for soul music, was Knock on wood, written by Eddie Floyd who also sang it. This song was one of the most popular soul recordings of that period. Fela’s version possessed great artistic value in terms of arrangement, and if recorded would have out-classed the original version. Fela’s career from Jeun Ko Ku upwards appears to be well known to most people. But the period be tween the departure from highlife and this Afro-beat beginning is very crucial to the transition of Fela’s music. The music that characterized this period has also been described by foreign musicians and critics as ‘highly musical.’ Some of them were composed in America in 1969 and were first recorded there during the period of his musical transition. Tenor saxophone player Houston Person, one of America’s greatest musicians with the passion for African music teamed up with Fela’s ‘Africa 70’ in America and such bril liant performances as Wayo, My Lady’sfrustrations, MioleJobe, including Viva Africa, an Afro highlife rendition which reduced Fela’s lyrical message to a monologue – advising Nigerians to live together as brothers and sisters, saying that ‘war is not the an swer*. The music came as a reconciliatory message for Nigeria in 1970 to mark the end ofthe civil war. The main thrust of Fela’s music at this time was African rhythms whosevarious patterns were in tegrated into repetitive themes. He backed this up with riffs, and orchestral harmonies against which solos ran profusely with the best of improvisations. His ‘Afro-beaf career which spanned the 70s, 80s, and 90s has been very well documented. The inter esting feature ofthis entire period is the way the mu sic logically evolved – becoming more complex with time. This is one of the hallmarks that attests to his musicianship and the depth of his artistic creativity. Even in terms of lyrical content and explora tion, the music was not static. It developed initially from love theme such asOlolufeandAyawa in 1965 through the social commentaries of JeunKo Ku, Lady and Yellow Fever in the early seventies. Messages became politically rebellious and confrontational to wards the end of that decade in such hits as Zombie, ExpensiveShit,Sorrow, Blood and Tears. In the 80s, his lyrics confronted government on the issues of corruption in high places and human rights abuses inAuthorityStealing andBeast ofNo Nations. The 90s saw him as a crusader who marched against injustice, corruption, mismanagement and all – even though the authorities were unyielding, and the situation remained the same. Confusion Break Bone best illustrates this trend. He never liked to play his old songs, but rather chose to identify with new sounds, new trends, new perspectives. Notwithstanding some people find his highlife of the sixties more challenging musically. The majority of these people are jazz enthusiasts and lovers of creative music. They have a good reason for this preference: a lot more went into their musical composition than Afro-beat. And so the music has registered a lasting impression. Highlife melodies were easy for him to create and restructure in those days. Some of them were folk songs and well known compositions by other artistes – like Julius Araba’s Omolereayee which he titledAraba’s delight. Others were his own original compositions. No matter the source of his songs. Fela was more interested in the arrangement technique than any other musical element. He treated all ofthem as jazz themes which needed extensions and improvisa tion. In this way he devised a multi-part harmonious technique for theKoola Lobitos even though it was only a nine-man outfit, using riffs, solos and orches tral pattern as embellishments for the songs. Rehearsals were frequent – three days a week, and music was scored for every instrument. One song, usually took three rehearsals to perfect because the guitar had to go through various chord changes. The bass guitar was played at the time by Ojo Okeji, a veteran who was previously popular with Adeolu Akinsanya at Western Hotel. He had various move ments and changes to contend with in any particular arrangement. Many times he had to perfect his part of the rehearsal privately at his own time. The horn players had a difficult time master ing their own parts – especially in terms of coping with tempos and rhythmic concepts. Even Tony Allen had his drum patterns scored for him because Fela’s idea of drumming for his brand of highlife was jazz oriented and was different from the type that was adopted by the conventional highlife bands of that period. On the other hand,Afro-beat, from the initial JeunKoKu, until the last song he performed in 1997 did not entail as many musical variations, even though the horn arrangements became more complex in later years. The bass movement was repetitive; the guitar chord structure was monotonous; the arrangements for the horn may have involved the repetition oftwo or three bars of music. These were the hallmarks that made the music popular and commercially viable. Lovers of Fela’s highlife music of the sixties do not, however, dislike Palaver and Nefe Nefetwo classical highlife performances which were re corded during the Afro-beat era of the seventies. This is because, even though arrangements and solos are less involved, they are pleased with the fact that emphasis shifted to definitive melodic inventiveness, and the vocal exploration of the message – to give the music some measure of commercial flavoring.

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Fela anikulapo kuti.

Published by Temiloluwa oyeniyi on 21st July, 2022

Last Updated 3rd August, 2022

Some people are born legends, while some others are born into legendary families. In the case of Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, he had both. He was known for his political activism through music, and during his lifetime, he became the enemy of the government. On the other hand, his parents, especially his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti , were legends, who through campaigns advocated for the rights of women and against colonial rule.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s music niche is popularly known as Afrobeat . It is a complicated fusion of jazz, funk, highlife, and traditional African chants and rhythms that he essentially invented. It features psychedelic soul components and is composed in a manner akin to James Brown’s. Afrobeat was developed in part by Kuti’s drummer of twenty years, Tony Allen. According to Kuti, Tony Allen is essential to the existence of Afrobeat.

Before he began his musical career fully, Kuti travelled to Ghana in 1967 to come up with a new musical direction. At that time, Kuti first referred to his music as Afrobeat. Later, the band travelled to the United States in 1969, spending 10 months in Los Angeles.

On August 3, 1997, the death of Fela Anikulapo, also known as “Abami Eda,” was announced by his brother, Olukoye Ransome-Kuti, who had diagnosed him with AIDS. Olukoye, the former Minister of Health and  AIDS activist, mentioned in an interview after Fela’s death that he (Fela) never believed in AIDs, and he was a denial of the fact that he had the disease.

In this piece, Naijabiography narrates the early life, music career, music band, political activism, as well as the empire, death, and legacy of Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

The Early Life of Fela

Young Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti was born on October 15, 1938, in Abeokuta (the present day Ogun state ) into a family of four children, whose parents were against British rule and were activists. Fela’s father, Reverend Israel Ransome-Kuti , was the Principal of Abeokuta Grammar School, while his mother, Olufunmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was a feminist and a political activist. Fela got his activist spirit and prosperity from his parents and rose to prominence through his music career.

It is worthy of note that Fela’s first cousin, Wole Soyinka , a Nobel Prize winner, used to visit the Kuti’s family during holidays. They grew up together (Fela and Soyinka) and used to help Funmilayo teach the market women (who were members of the Abeokuta Women’s Union) English in their compound.

Young Kuti was a student at Abeokuta Grammar and was later sent to London in 1958 to pursue a medical degree, but he changed his mind and enrolled in the Trinity College of Music’s trumpet program instead. While there, he started a jazz and highlife fusion band called “Koola Lobitos.” 

After two years in London, Kuti wedded Remilekun (Remi) Taylor, his first wife, in 1960. They had three kids together (Femi, Yeni, and Sola) . Three years after Nigeria gained independence (1960), Kuti, 1963 , relocated back to Nigeria. He then resurrected “Koola Lobitos Band” and began receiving training as a radio producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. He spent some time playing with Victor Olaiya’s All-Stars.

Kuti visited Ghana in 1967 in search of a new musical path. There, he dubbed his music’s fusion of highlife, funk, jazz, salsa, calypso, and traditional Yoruba music and named it Afrobeat—he was the first musician to form that genre of music. Afterwards, Kuti brought the band to the US in 1969 , where they spent ten months in Los Angeles.  

While in Los Angeles , Kuti learned about the Black Power movement through Sandra Smith, a member of the Black Panther Party who is now known by the names Sandra Izsadore or Sandra Akanke Isidore. His music and political beliefs were greatly inspired by this encounter. It was this encounter that inspired him, and he gave the band a new name, Nigeria 70. This, however, prompted a promoter to inform the Immigration and Naturalization Service that Kuti and his band were in the country illegally. During this incident, the band quickly performed a brief recording session in Los Angeles that would subsequently be released as The ’69 Los Angeles Sessions.

Fela Kuti’s Career

The ensemble was renamed from Nigeria ’70 to Africa ’70 as the lyrical topics shifted from love to social issues after Kuti and his band returned to Nigeria. He established the Kalakuta Republic , which he eventually declared autonomous from the Nigerian government. It served as a commune, a recording studio, and a residence for many band members.

First known as the Afro-Spot and then the Afrika Shrine, Kuti established a nightclub in the Empire Hotel where he routinely gave performances and presided over customized Yoruba traditional ceremonies in remembrance of his people’s ancestral religion. Additionally, he adopted the name “Anikulapo’ (meaning “He who carries death in his pouch,” with the interpretation: “I will be the master of my own destiny and will decide when it is time for death to take me.” However, it was during this time that he stopped using the name “Ransome” because he perceived it as a slave name.

The general populace in Nigeria and Africans were fans of Kuti’s music. He made the decision to sing in Pidgin English so that people in Africa, where there are many different local languages spoken, could enjoy his music. Even though Kuti’s music had gained popularity in Nigeria and other countries, the current administration did not appreciate it, and periodic raids on the Kalakuta Republic resulted. In the recording of Ginger Baker’s Stratavarious in 1972, Kuti collaborated with guitarist and singer Bobby Tench. Also, Kuti increased his involvement with the Yoruba faith at this point.

With the use of the “zombie” concept to characterize the Nigerian military’s tactics, Kuti and Africa 70’s 1977 album Zombie sharply condemned Nigerian soldiers. The CD was a huge hit and enraged the government, which sent 1,000 soldiers to raid the Kalakuta Republic. Kuti was brutally assaulted during the raid, alongside his elder brother. Also, during this raid, his mother was killed after being pushed to the ground from a two-storey-building window. Along with the destruction of Kuti’s studio, equipment, and master tapes, the commune was set on fire. Kuti stated that if a commanding officer hadn’t intervened when he was being assaulted, he would have been murdered.

After the Kuti shrine and the commune were both demolished, Kuti and his band moved into the Crossroads Hotel. He then married 27 women in 1978: Kikelomo Oseyni, Folake Oladejo, Tejumade Adebiyi, Naa Lamiley, Sewaa Kuti, Omotola Osaeti, Omowunmi Oyedele, Alake Anikulapo Kuti, Shade Shodeinde, Adeola Williams, Najite Kuti, Emaruagheru Osawe, Kevwe Og Taylor, Remilekun. According to research, these women were Fela’s dancers, composers, and singers in the band.

Later, he switched to a rotating method of caring for 12 women at once. Two concerts were also held during the year: the first was in Accra , where rioting broke out during the performance of “Zombie,” resulting in Kuti’s exclusion from Ghana ; the second was held following the Berlin Jazz Festival, where the majority of Kuti’s musicians turned on him amid rumours that he intended to use the entire proceeds to support his presidential campaign.

In order to clean up society like a mop, Kuti founded his political organization in 1979 under the name Movement of the People (MOP) . However, as a result of his conflicts with the ruling party, MOP swiftly went dormant. Thus, at the time, MOP spread Africanism and Nkrumahism.

When Nigeria held its first elections in decades in 1983, Kuti put himself forward as a candidate for president, but his nomination was rejected. In order to make his assertion known that Egyptian civilisation, knowledge, philosophy, mathematics, and religious systems are African , Kuti formed a new band at this time called “Egypt 80.” In a report, Kuti made his intention known by stating: “I am putting emphasis on the idea that I must educate Africans about the reality that Egyptian civilization is their own. And because of this, I altered the name of my band to Egypt 80 for that reason.” Kuti continued to release records and perform across the nation. By naming Moshood Abiola , vice president of ITT Corporation , and Obasanjo in the well-known 25-minute political rant “I.T.T.” (International Thief-Thief), he further enraged the political establishment.

Kuti was imprisoned in 1984 by Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, which he fiercely opposed. The charge against him was cash smuggling. However, the allegations were criticized as being politically motivated by Amnesty International and others. He was classified as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty, and other human rights organizations supported him. General Ibrahim Babangida , after many controversies, freed him from jail after 20 months. During this period, Kuti divorced his 12 remaining wives after being freed, claiming that “marriage brings envy and greed.”

The 1990s saw a decline in Kuti’s album production, and eventually, he stopped altogether. He was detained on January 21 together with four other African 70 members, and on January 25 they were accused of the murder of an electrician. According to rumours, he may have been suffering from a condition for which he was defying medical attention. There was no official remark from Kuti on this rumour, though.

Fela Kuti’s Music

Kuti’s band, known for the Afrobeats, had two baritone saxophones, which were employed when most bands only used one. In funk and hip hop, as well as other musical genres with an African or African-inspired influence, this niche of music is typical. His bands occasionally performed with two bassists performing melodies and rhythms simultaneously. Two or more guitarists were present at all times. Afrobeat bands employ the electric West African style guitar as a significant component of the sound and to provide basic structure by playing a repeated chordal/melodic statement, riff, or groove.

The call-and-response chorus and symbolic but straightforward lyrics are two features that recur frequently in Kuti’s music. His songs were also quite lengthy, lasting at least 10-15 minutes and frequently 20–30 minutes , with some unreleased tunes having live performances that lasted up to 45 minutes.

Although he sang a few songs in Yoruba, Kuti’s songs are primarily sung in Nigerian pidgin English. He primarily used the saxophone and keyboards, although he also occasionally performed the trumpet, electric guitar, and drum solos. Kuti was known for being a showman, and his performances were frequently outrageous and wild. He called his performance style the “Underground Spiritual Game.” He was not interested in putting on a “show” in the 1980s , despite the expectations of many who wanted him to perform concerts similar to those in the West.

Fela as a Political Activist

From the 1970s until his passing, Kuti was actively involved in African politics. He decried the abuse of Nigerians as well as the corruption of government officials in Nigeria. According to him, the socio-economic and political issues that beset the African people were caused by colonialism. 

Kuti’s outspoken criticism of the brutal and authoritarian government in charge of Nigeria was not without repercussions. He was detained on more than 200 different occasions, with his longest stay being 20 months following his arrest in 1984 . The corrupt government sent soldiers to beat Kuti, his family, and friends, in addition to sending him to prison. They also destroyed his home and any instruments or recordings he may have owned.

In order to circumvent editorial restrictions in Nigeria’s predominately state-controlled media, Kuti began publishing controversial political pieces in the advertising sections of daily and weekly newspapers, including The Daily Times and The Punch , in the 1970s . Published under the title “Chief Priest Say” in the 1970s and early 1980s , Kuti covered a wide range of subjects, including vehement denunciations of the criminal actions of the Nigerian government, the exploitative character of Islam and Christianity, and evil multinational companies, as well as critiques of Western medicine, Black Muslims, sex, pollution, and poverty. 

Shortly after several criticisms in the newspaper, the Daily Times and The Punch finally decided to cancel “Chief Priest Say.” History has it that many people have theorized that threats of violence were used to force the paper’s editors to halt publication.

Through his lyrics, Kuti revealed his inner ideas. A transformation in the relationship between music as an art form and Nigerian socio-political discourse was marked by his ascent to fame throughout the 1970s. For instance, he criticized and insulted Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s autocratic president, in 1984 through one of his well-known songs titled “Beast of No Nation, ” In the song, he describes Buhari as a “beast in a madman’s body,” which Pidgin translates to as “No be outside Buhari dey ee / na craze man be dat / animal in craze man skini.”

Furthermore, Kuti was also a vocal opponent of the United States. At a conference during his 1981 trip to Amsterdam , he complained about the psychological warfare that American organizations like ITT and the CIA waged against emerging nations in terms of language. Kuti believed that phrases like Third World, underdeveloped, or even worse, non-aligned countries —should not be used since they indicate inferiority.

Anikulapo’s Death

On August 3, 1997 , the death of Fela Anikulapo was announced by his brother, Olukoye Ransome-Kuti , who had diagnosed him with AIDS . Fela Anikulapo Kuti died on August 2, 1997. Olukoye, the former Minister of Health and  AIDS activist, mentioned in an interview after Fela’s death that he (Fela) never believed in AIDs, and he was a denial of the fact that he had the disease.

However, Fela’s wives maintained the storyline that their husband was not diagnosed with AIDS. Thus, Seun , his youngest son, assumed leadership of Egypt 80 , Kuti’s previous band. The group is still active as of 2020 , putting out music as Seun Kuti & Egypt 80.

Since 1998 , the New Afrika Shrine has hosted the Felabration festival to honour this musician’s life and birthday. His daughter, Yeni Kuti, conceptualized the event. Since Kuti’s passing in 1997 , there has been a resurgence of his influence in music and popular culture. This revival has culminated in another UMG-controlled re-release of his catalogue, Broadway and off-Broadway biographical shows, and new bands, like Antibalas, who have introduced Afrobeat to a new audience.

Several reporters, especially within Africa and the United States, have written the biography of Fela Kuti, featuring his music playlists. For instance, in 2008 , an off-Broadway production about Kuti’s life was titled “Fela,” and inspired by the 1982 biography Fela, Fela! This Bitch of a Life, by Carlos Moore, had a collaboration between the Afrobeat band Antibalas and Tony award-winner Bill T. Jones.

In addition, Hulu published a six-episode documentary in 2021 named “McCartney 3, 2, 1,” in which Paul McCartney is cited as saying: “The music was so fantastic that I wept.” He added, “I saw Fela Kuti at the African Shrine, Kuti’s club outside of Lagos. One of the most memorable musical experiences of my life was hearing it. “

Also, the Nubian Jak Community Trust placed a blue plaque at 12 Stanlake Road in Shepherd’s Bush on November 1, 2021, commemorating Kuti’s initial residence there when he was attending Trinity College of Music in 1958. At the ceremony, Shalewa Ransome-Kuti , a presenter for Resonance FM, Debbie Golt, Rikki Stein, Lemi Ghariokwu, and others all paid tribute to Kuti throughout the ceremony.

Recently ( 2022 ), Kuti was honoured by being included in the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.

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Fela Kuti Biography & History | Music & Activist Work

In this article we’ll discuss Fela Kuti biography & history, his Music, Activist Works and more, via Afrokonnect. Fela Kuti , legally known as Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti. 

He was a Nigerian musician, human right Activist and the Pioneer of Afro beat music genre. Also known as Fela Anikulapo Kuti, he was born on the 15 October 1938. Anikulapo Kuti lived an impactful life and died on the 2nd August 1997.

Fela was born in Abeokuta, Ogun state and later died in Lagos, Nigeria.

Fela Kuti grew up in a middle class family, his father ‘ Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti ’ was a reverend and a school teacher.

His dad was the first president of the Nigeria Union of Teachers.

While his mother ‘ Chief Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti ’, was a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement.

Fela had two siblings, Beko Ransome-Kuti and Olikoye Ransome-Kuti who were both medical doctors then.

Anikulapo Kuti is a first cousin to the Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka.

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Fela started his education at Abeokuta Grammar School, he was sent to London in 1958 to study Medicine. However, Fela absconded and later studied Music at the Trinity College of Music in London.

Table of Contents

Fela Kuti History

After a while, Fela came back to Nigeria and founded a recording studio and rehearsal space he called the “ Kalakuta Republic ”. Not only that, Fela started a nightclub called “ T he Shrine” when he came back to Nigeria.

According to Fela his middle name “Ransome” was a slave name. He changed it to “Anikulapo” (meaning “ he who carries death in his pouch “).

Fela Kuti Music Career – Afro Beat Genre.

During Fela’s Music career between 1958–1997. His sound comprises of majorly Saxophone, keyboards, trumpet, guitar, drums and his crips vocals. The combination of this instruments gave birth to the Afro beat/Highlife genre today.

Most times fela uses the call-and-response technique within the chorus and figurative of his songs. His songs were also very long, at least 10–15 minutes in length.

Fela   would last up to 45 minutes when performing live. According to Fela: “ Music is supposed to have an effect. If you’re playing music and people don’t feel something, you’re not doing shit. That’s what African music is about. When you hear something, you must move. I want to move people to dance, but also to think. Music wants to dictate a better life, against a bad life.

When you’re listening to something that depicts having a better life, and you’re not having a better life, it must have an effect on you “. Many people referred to Fela as one of Africa’s most “ challenging and charismatic music performers ”. Some of Fela’s songs that went global includes but not limited to,

Fela Kuti Shakara below:

An instant classic. #Shakara pic.twitter.com/p6gVdysUeX — Fela Kuti (@felakuti) September 26, 2019

Fela kuti water no get enemy

Fela Kuti Human Right Activist 

Fela Kuti was the voice of the voiceless and a cultural rebel. A lot of Nigerians saw him Like their own Bob Marley. When Fela came back to Nigeria, it was a hell of a ride for him. Fela was beaten, jailed, harassed, and nearly killed by a government determined to silence him. In 1977, 1,000 Nigerian soldiers attacked Fela’s  Kalakuta compound.

During the attack Fela suffered a fractured skull as well as other broken bones. Fela lost all his creative content in a fire disaster set by the military, including a movie draft Fela was working on then.

Nigeria was a bit comfortable for Fela during Civilian rule from 1980-1983. At least he was able to record and tour for a while before the military came back in 1983.

What killed Fela Anikulapo?

On the August 2nd 1997 one of Nigeria’s greatest music icon and human right activist “Fela Kuti” died of AIDS-related complications. About 1 million people went for Fela’s funeral service at the Tafawa Balewa Square. Fela was laid to rest in the front yard of  Kuti’s home at Kalakuta in Ikeja, Nigeria.

How many times did Fela go to jail?

Fela was arrested on over 200 different occasions and spent time in jail. In 1984 Fela was sentenced to ten years in prison on charges of currency smuggling. Pictures of late Kehinde Lijadu, one half of the incredibly talented Lijadu Sisters and Fela’s second cousin. Her legacy lives on.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti Legacy

An annual festival “Felabration” is held each year to celebrate the life of this music legend and his birthday. Since his death in 1997, there has been a revival of his influence in music and popular culture, culminating in another re-release of his catalog controlled by Universal Music.

The full-length documentary film Finding Fela , directed by Alex Gibney, received its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

We hope you enjoyed this article, if there’s anything we forget or any contribution. Please let us know via the comment section.

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"Music is a spiritual thing. You don't play music. If you play with music you will die young. When the higher forces give you gift of musicianship, it must be well used for the good of humanity."

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