Celebrating Fela Kuti’s 81st Posthumous Birthday Today
Today is the legendaryFela Kuti’s posthumous birthday and the one who brought the Afrobeat genre toNigeria still speaks today.
It is almost impossible to grow up inNigeria without hearing about the late King ofAfrobeat and human rights activist whose impact went far beyond his music, affecting lives and creating a legacy that would endure for all-time.
Like all men, Fela was imperfect but that isn’t what people remember him for. His big heart and the lengths he was willing to go to fight for Nigerians make him one ofAfrica’s most beloved icons.
Fela Anikulapo Kuti was born on October 15, 1938. He was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer, pioneer of the Afrobeat music and human rights activist. His birthplace wasAbeokuta, the capital ofOgun State.
Born into an upper-middle-class family, Fela’s mother,Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement at the time. His father, ReverendIsrael Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, an Anglican minister and school principal, was the first president of theNigeria Union of Teachers(NUT). His brothers,Beko Ransome-Kuti andOlikoye Ransome-Kuti are both medical doctors and well-known citizens in the country.
Fela was a first cousin to Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate, ProfessorWole Soyinka.
Sent toLondon in 1958 to study Medicine, Fela chose to study music instead at theTrinity College of Music, choosing the trumpet as his primary instrument. While there, he formedKoola Lobitosband.
In 1960, Fela married his first wife,Remilekan, with whom he had three children – Femi, Yemi, and Sola. He returned to Nigeria in 1963 and first referred to his music as Afrobeat (a combination of funk, jazz, salsa, Calypso, and traditionalYoruba music) in 1967 while on a trip inGhana.
Fela’s discovery of theBlack Power movement in theUnited States would greatly influence his music and political views and this reflected in his songs.
In 1977, Fela and his band (now called theAfrika ’70) released the albumZombie, an attack on Nigerian soldiers, who Fela said followed orders blindly, not minding the implications of their actions. The album was a smash hit but the government (under GeneralOlusegun Obasanjo) didn’t find its content funny and launched an unexpectedly vicious attack on Kalakuta (Fela’s domain).
Fela was beaten severely and his elderly mother was thrown from a two-storey window, resulting in fatal injuries. She died some months later and her loss was a huge blow to Fela who idolized her. He retaliated by delivering a mock coffin to theDodan BarracksinLagos (Obasanjo’s residence at the time).
Fela’s outspoken nature and frequent verbal attacks on the government led to further arrests and more beatings but that did nothing but strengthen his resolve as he continued to fight for justice and a better Nigeria until his death on the 2nd of August, 1997.
The legend has been honored with the yearlyFelabration event and his ‘Shrine’ in Lagos is a safe haven for those who want to feel the legacy he left behind. His sons, Femi and Seun, have continued in his musical footsteps, with the former being a frequent performer at the Shrine.
Fela Kuti was a larger-than-life character and his indelible prints in the sands of time, continued struggle for a better Nigeria and musical genius continue to speak years after his death.