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Fela Kuti Fela is a man of contradictions This is what makes him so fascinating People who love him are able to forgive his bad sides His songs can last 20 minutes or more and are performed in thick almost incomprehensible Pidgin English His music is influenced by Christian hymns and classical music He also includes jazz Yoruba and highlife with horns and guitars He was a musician Fela Kuti embodied the idea that music can be a tool for change His music was used to advocate for social political and economic change His influence can be evident even today His musical style Afrobeat is a combination of African and Western influences Its roots are in WestAfrican music and funk However it has evolved into a completely new genre His political activism was fierce and fearless He made use of his music to speak out against corruption in government and human rights violations Songs like Zombie Coffin for the State Head and others were blatant criticisms of Nigerias government He also used Kalakuta as a place to connect with likeminded individuals and to promote political activism The play includes a large portrait of his mother who died in the past Funmilayo ransomeKuti She was a wellknown feminist and activist Shantel Cribbs portrays her and she does an excellent job of capturing the importance she played in the life of Fela The play also focuses her political activism Despite her deteriorating health she refused to be checked for AIDS and instead opted for traditional medicine He was a musician Fela Ransome Kuti was a multifaceted person who utilized music to bring about changes in the political landscape He is credited as the creator of afrobeat an invigorating hybrid of funk dirty and traditional African rhythms He was also a relentless critic of Nigerias political and religious leaders Growing up with an anticolonial suffragist mom it is no surprise that Fela had a passion for social commentary and politics His parents wanted him to become an ophthalmologist however he had other plans A trip to America changed his life forever Exposure to Black power movements and leaders such as Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver would have a profound impact on his music He adopted a PanAfricanism ethos which would inform and guide his later work He was a songwriter Fela encountered Black Power activists like Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X during his time in the United States This led him to start an organization called the Movement of the People and write songs that expressed the ideas he had about political activism and black awareness His philosophies were expressed through the way of yabis which is a form of public speaking that is referred to as freedom of expression He also began to impose an ethical code on his band This included refusing to take medication from Westerntrained doctors After his return to Nigeria Fela began to build his own club and the Shrine in Ikeja The raids by officers and police were almost constant His MosholashiIdi Oro hangers were able to repopulate the area surrounding the club with hard drugs especially bana and yamuna heroin Despite this Fela was a man of uncompromising integrity His music demonstrates the determination with which he challenged authority and demanded that the popular will be reflected in official objectives It is a remarkable legacy that will be remembered for generations to come 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 During these shows he referred to himself as the big dick in the little pond These jokes were not viewed lightly by the authorities and he was repeatedly detained imprisonments and beatings at the hands of authorities He eventually adopted the name Anikulapo which means he is carrying death in his bag In 1977 Fela recorded a song called Zombie which compared soldiers to mindless zombies that obeyed orders without hesitation The military was irritated by this and raided Kalakuta Republic They burned it down and beat its residents During the raid Felas mother was thrown from her secondfloor apartment by the window Fela developed Afrobeat in the years that after Nigerias independence fela claims is a music genre that combines jazz with indigenous African rhythm His songs attacked European culture imperialism and supported African traditional religions and cultures He also criticized fellow Africans for betraying the traditions of their homeland He also stressed the importance of human rights and freedom He was an artist of hiphop A trumpeter saxophonist composer and pioneer of the Afrobeat genre Fela AnikulapoKuti was born in 1938 in Abeokuta Nigeria He grew up with jazz rock and roll and traditional African music and chants which helped shape his style of music After an excursion to the United States in 1969 Fela met Sandra Smith an activist from the Black Power movement and her ideas influenced his work in a profound way Upon his return to Nigeria Fela began using his music as a tool for political purposes He criticized the government of his country and also argued against Western sensibilities affecting African culture He also wrote about societal inequities and human rights violations and was frequently detained for his criticism of the military Fela was also a fervent advocate of marijuana in Africa and is referred to as igbo He held yabis public discussions at the Afrika Shrine where he would ridicule government officials and share his opinions on the freedom of expression as well as the beauty of womens bodies Fela also had an entourage of young women who performed at his shows and acted as vocal backups for his vocalists He was a dancer Fela was a master of musical fusion He incorporated elements from beat music and highlife to create his own unique style He was a prominent African musician and a vocal critic of colonial ruling Despite being tortured and arrested by the Nigerian military junta and witnessing his mother murdered Fela refused to leave the country He died of complications related to AIDS in 1997 Fela was a wellknown political activist who opposed the oppressive Nigerian Government and supported the principles of Pan Africanism His albums including 1973s Gentleman focused on the oppression of both government and colonial forces He also advocated black power and criticised Christianity Islam and other nonAfrican imports that divide the people of Africa The title track on a 1978 album Shuffering and Shmiling describes the overcrowded public buses full of poor people shuffering and smiling Fela was a fierce opponent of religious hypocrisy The dancers of Fela were an excellent match for his music They were sensual vibrant and regal Their contributions were just as important as Felas words He was an activist for the political cause Fela Kuti used music as a tool to challenge oppressive authorities He took his knowledge of American jazz and funk to African modes and rhythms creating an edgy sound that was prepared for battle The majority of his songs start with slowburning instrumentals He layers riffs longlined melody lines and other elements until they explode with urgency Contrary to the majority of artists who were afraid to expose their political beliefs Fela was fearless and unbending He stood in his convictions even when it was risky to do so His mother Funmilayo RunsomeKuti was a prominent feminist who led the Nigerian Womens movement His father was both a protestant minister as well as the teachers union president He also established Kalakuta Republic a recording studio and commune that was an emblem of the resistance The government raided the Kalakuta Republic and destroyed property as well as injuring Fela He refused to give up however and continued to speak against the government He died from complications of AIDS in 1997 His son Femi continues to carry on his political and musical legacy He was a father Music is often seen as a form of political protest with musicians using lyrics to demand change However some of the most powerful musicrelated protests do not use words in any way Fela Kuti was one of them and his music still rings out to this day He was the first to pioneer 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 who fought colonialism She helped form the Abeokuta Womens Union and fought against genderdiscriminatory taxation laws She also studied marxism and believed in a Nigeria that was serving its entire population Felas son Seun is continuing his fathers legacy through a band called Egypt 80 thats touring the world this year The Egyptian 80s music blends the sounds of Fela with a scathing denunciation of the power structures that exist today The new album Black Times will be released in March Many fans paid their respects at the funeral in Tafawa Balewa square The crowd was so big that police had to shut off the entrance to the venue