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Fela Kuti Fela is a man with contradictions This is what makes him so intriguing People who love him accept the bad parts of him His songs typically last up to 20 minutes and are performed in dense almost unintelligible Pidgin English His music is influenced by Christian hymns jazz classical music Yoruba singing and hornandguitar heavy highlife He was a musician Fela Kuti embodied the idea that music is a tool for change His music was used to call for social political and economic change His influence can be present today Afrobeat is a musical style that blends African and Western influences Its roots are in WestAfrican and funk However it has evolved into a completely new genre His political activism was ferocious and he acted without fear He made use of his music to speak out against corruption in government and human rights abuses Songs like Zombie and Coffin for the Head of State were provocative critiques of the Nigerian regime He also made use of Kalakuta as a venue to meet likeminded people and to encourage political activism The production features a huge portrait of his late mother Funmilayo RansomeKuti who was a wellknown feminist activist and pioneer of the feminist movement Shantel Cribbs portrays her and she does an excellent job of capturing the importance she played in Felas life The play also examines her political activism Despite her declining health she was unable to get checked for AIDS and instead opted for traditional treatment He was a singer Fela RansomeKuti was a complex man who used his music to effect political change He is famous for his work on Afrobeat a mix of dirty funk with traditional African rhythms He was also a fervent critic of Nigerias governmental and religious leaders Growing up with an anticolonial feminist mother Its no surprise that Fela was a fan of social commentary and politics His parents had hoped that he would eventually become a doctor however he had other plans While he began in a more apolitical highlife style a trip to America would change his outlook forever The exposure to Black power movements and leaders like Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver would have a profound influence on his music He adopted a PanAfricanism ideology that would inform and guide his later work He was a music producer While in the United States Fela was introduced to Black Power activists such as Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X The experience inspired him to start an organization called the Movement of the People and create songs that reflected the ideas he had about political activism and black awareness His philosophy was expressed publicly through yabis a form of public speaking that he called freedom expression He also started to impose an ethical code of conduct on his band This included refusing to take medication from Westerntrained medical professionals After his return to Nigeria Fela began to build his own club the Shrine in Ikeja Raids from police and military officials were all the time MosholashiIdiOros hangerson repopulated the area around the club with hard drugs particularly the yamuna and bana heroin Fela maintained his integrity despite this His music is a testimony to the determination with which he fought authority and demanded that the popular will be reflected in official goals It is an extraordinary legacy that will be remembered for generations to come He was a poet Felas music used sarcasm and humor to bring attention to political and economic issues in Nigeria He also mocked his audience the government and himself He often referred to himself during these shows as the big dick in the little pond The authorities did not take his jokes lightly and he was repeatedly arrested and detained as well as beat by the authorities He was eventually given the title Anikulapo which means he has his body in his purse In 1977 Fela recorded a song called Zombie which compared soldiers to mindless zombies that followed orders without question The military was irritated by this and raided Kalakuta Republic They burned the place down and beat its residents During the raid the mother of Fela was thrown from her secondfloor window Fela developed Afrobeat in the decades that after the nations independence Afrobeat is a music genre that combines jazz with the indigenous African rhythm His songs attacked European imperialism in culture and praised African traditional beliefs and cultures He also criticised fellow Africans for disrespecting the traditions of their homeland He also stressed the importance of human rights and freedom He was a rapper A trumpeter saxophonist composer and pioneer of the Afrobeat genre Fela AnikulapoKuti was born in 1938 in Abeokuta Nigeria He grew up listening to jazz music rock and roll and traditional African music and chants which influenced his unique style of music After a visit to the United States Fela met Sandra Smith She was an activist in the Black Power Movement Her ideas were influential in his work Felas music was an instrument of political power upon his return to Nigeria He criticised the government of his home country and argued against Western sensibilities that affected African culture He also wrote about human rights violations and social injustices right abuses He was frequently detained for his criticism of military Fela was also a proponent of marijuana in Africa which is known as igbo He also held yabis public discussions at Afrika Shrine where he would ridicule government officials and express his views on freedom of expression and beauty of womens bodies Fela also had an entourage of young women who performed at his shows and served as vocal backups for him He was a dancer Fela was a master at musical fusion He combined elements of beat music and highlife to create his own unique style He was a leading African musician and vocal critic of colonial ruling Fela refused despite being interrogated and detained by the Nigerian military junta as having witnessed the murder of his mother 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 including 1973s Gentleman focused on the issue of oppression by both government bodies and colonial parties He also pushed for blackpower and decried Christianity Islam and other nonAfrican imports that divide the people of Africa Shuffering and Smiling is the title track of the album released in 1978 It is about overcrowded public buses full of people who are poor shuffering and smiling Fela was a fierce enemy of religious hypocrisy The music of Fela was in turn complemented by his dancers who were lively elegant sensual and beautiful Their contributions were as significant as Felas lyrics He was a political activist Fela Kuti was an activist who used music to challenge oppressive authority He transformed his knowledge of American jazz and funk to African styles and rhythms and created music that was ready for a fight The majority of his songs start with slowburning instrumentals He layers melodies riffs longlined melodies and other elements until they explode with urgency Fela unlike many artists who were afraid to speak about their politics was unflinching and uncompromising He stood for his beliefs even when it was risky to do so His mother Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was a prominent feminist who was the leader of the Nigerian Womens Movement His father was a protestant minister and the president of the teachers union He also founded Kalakuta Republic a commune and recording studio that was an expression of resistance The government seized the commune degrading the property and injuring Fela badly He refused to give up though and continued to speak out 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 thought of as a political act with artists using lyrics to solicit change But some of the most powerful musicrelated protests do not use words at all fela attorneys was one such artist and his music is still ringing out to this day He pioneered Afrobeat combining traditional African rhythms and harmonies with jazz and funk in the style of artists like James Brown Funmilayo RansomeKuti Felas maternal grandmother was a militant and unionist who fought against colonialism She helped form the Abeokuta Womens Union and fought against genderdiscriminatory taxation laws She also studied marxism and believed in the idea of a Nigeria which served its entire population Seun Felas Son is carrying on his fathers legacy with the band Egypt 80 The band is touring the world in this year The music of Egypt 80 combines the sounds of Fela with a sharp critique of power structures that still exist today Black Times will be released at the end of March A large number of fans attended the funeral at Tafawa Balewa square The crowd was so huge that police had to shut down the entrance to the location