crypotato96
User Name: You need to be a registered (and logged in) user to view username.
Total Articles : 0
Fela Kuti Fela is a man of contradictions Thats why hes so fascinating People who love him will forgive his bad sides His songs are often longer than 20 minutes and are sung in a slurred Pidgin English that is almost unintelligible His music is influenced by Christian hymns and classical music He also incorporates jazz Yoruba and highlife with guitars and horns He was a musician Fela Kuti embodied the idea that music is an instrument of change He used his music to advocate for social and political changes and his influence can be present in the world even today Afrobeat is a style of music that blends African and Western influences Its roots are in WestAfrican and funk However it has evolved into a brand new genre His political activism was ferocious and he took action without fear He made use of his music to protest against corruption by the government and human rights abuses Songs such as Zombie Coffin for the State Head and others were shrewd criticisms of Nigerias government He also used Kalakuta as a platform to connect with likeminded individuals and to encourage political activism The play includes a large portrait of his late mother Funmilayo RansomeKuti who was a prominent feminist activist and feminist pioneer She is portrayed by actress Shantel Cribbs who successfully communicated her importance in the life of Fela The play also explores her political activism Despite her deteriorating condition she refused to undergo tests for AIDS Instead she took traditional treatments He was a musician Fela RansomeKuti was a complex man who used his music as a tool for political change He is known as the creator of afrobeat It was an invigorating blend of funk dirty and traditional African rhythms He was a fierce critic of Nigerias religious and governmental leaders Growing up with an anticolonial suffragist mother it is no surprise that Fela was interested in social commentary and politics His parents hoped that he would be a doctor however there were other goals for him While he initially sounded in a more political highlife fashion a trip in America could alter his perspective forever Exposure to Black political movements and leaders such as Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver would have a profound influence on his music He adopted a PanAfricanism philosophy which would inform and guide his later work He was a writer Fela met Black Power activists such as Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X while in the United States This experience led him to create an activist group known as the Movement of the People and compose songs that expressed the ideas he had about activism and black awareness His ideas were expressed publicly by yabis a type of public speaking he called freedom expression He also began to enforce a strict ethical code for his band such as refusing to take medication from Westerntrained doctors Fela returned to Nigeria and began building his own club in Ikeja The snares of police and military officials was almost daily His MosholashiIdi Oro hangers were able to repopulate the area surrounding the club with drugs of all kinds especially bana and yamuna heroin Fela kept his integrity despite this His music demonstrates the determination with which he challenged authority and demanded that the desires of the masses be reflected in official goals It is a legacy that will last for generations He was a poet Felas music utilized sarcasm as well as humor to draw attention to economic and political issues in Nigeria He also mocked his fans as well as the government and himself In these shows he would refer to himself as the big dick in the pond with a little These jokes were not accepted lightly by the authorities and he was frequently arrested and imprisonments as well as beatings at the hands of the authorities He eventually renamed himself Anikulapo which translates to he is carrying death in his pocket In 1977 Fela released a song called Zombie in which he contrasted soldiers with brainless zombies that followed orders without question The military was offended by the song who seized the Kalakuta Republic burning it down and beating its inhabitants During the raid Felas mother was thrown out of her secondfloor apartment window In the decades following Nigerias independence Fela created Afrobeat the genre of music that blended jazz and traditional African rhythm His songs criticized European cultural imperialism and supported traditional African religions and culture He also criticized fellow Africans who sabotaged their nations traditions He emphasized the importance of human rights and freedom He was a rapper Fela Anikulapo Kuti a saxophonist and trumpeter was born in Abeokuta in 1938 He is a pioneer in Afrobeat music He grew up with jazz and rock and roll as well as traditional African music and chants which helped shape his unique style of music After a trip to the United States in 1969 Fela met Sandra Smith an activist from the Black Power movement and her ideas influenced his work profoundly Upon his return to Nigeria Fela began using his music as a tool for political purposes He was critical of the government of his country and also argued against Western sensibilities that affected African culture He also wrote about social injustices and human rights violations and was often detained for his criticism of the military Fela also sporadically advocated for the use of marijuana known as igbo in Africa He frequently held public discussions at Afrika Shrine called yabis in which he would slam government officials and spread his views on freedom of expression and the beauty of womens bodies fela accident attorney had a harem of young women who danced at his shows and also served as vocal backups for him He was a dancer Fela was a master of musical fusion taking elements from beat music and highlife to create his own unique style He was a renowned African musician and vocal critic of colonial ruling Despite being snatched and tortured by the Nigerian military junta and witnessing his mother be killed Fela refused to leave the country He died in 1997 of AIDSrelated complications Fela was a prominent political activist who criticized the oppressive Nigerian Government and endorsed the principles of Pan Africanism His albums such as 1973s Gentleman focused on fighting oppression from both colonial and government parties He also promoted black power and criticized Christianity and Islam as nonAfrican imports which have been used to divide the people of Africa Shuffering and Smiling is the title track of an album from 1978 It describes crowded public buses filled with working poor people shuffering and smiling Fela was a fierce opponent of religious hypocrisy The music of Fela was also complemented by his dancers who were lively elegant sensual and beautiful Their contributions to the show were as significant as the words of Fela He was an activist in the political arena Fela Kuti used music as a weapon to challenge unjust authorities He made use of his knowledge of American jazz and funk towards African styles and rhythms creating a sound that is braced for a fight Most of his songs begin as simmering instrumentals slowly adding small riffs and melodies until they explode with a ferocious vigor Unlike many artists who were afraid to publicly discuss their political views Fela was fearless and uncompromising He stood for his beliefs even when it was dangerous to do so Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was a feminist leader of the Nigerian Womens Movement His father was a protestant minister and the president of the teachers union He also established Kalakuta Republic a recording studio and commune that was an emblem of the resistance The government raided the commune degrading the property and hurting Fela severely He refused to give up however and continued to speak against the government He died in 1997 from complications arising from AIDS His son Femi continues to carry on his musical and political legacy He was a father Music is often seen as a form of political protest and musicians use lyrics to call for change But some of the most powerful musicrelated protests do not use words at all Fela Kuti is among these artists and his music still resonates today He pioneered Afrobeat which combines traditional African rhythms and harmonies with funk and jazz inspired by artists like James Brown Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was Felas activist mother She was a unionist and opposed colonialism She helped form the Abeokuta Womens Union and fought against genderdiscriminatory taxation laws She also was a Marxist and believed that Nigeria should serve its entire population Felas son Seun continues his fathers work with a band called Egypt 80 thats touring the world this year The Egypt 80s music combines the sounds of Fela with a sharp critique of power structures that still exist in the present Black Times will be released at the end of March Thousands of fans paid their respects at the funeral held in Tafawa Balewa square The crowd was so huge that the police had to block the entrance