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Fela Kuti The life of Fela is full of contradictions and thats a large part of what makes him fascinating People who love him will forgive the bad parts of him His songs are usually longer than 20 minutes and sung in a thick Pidgin English that is almost impossible to understand His music is inspired by Christian hymns jazz classical music Yoruba music chant and hornandguitar heavy highlife He was a musician Fela Kuti embodied that music can be a tool to change the world He made use of his music to push for social and political changes and his influence can be felt in the world even today His style of music Afrobeat is a blend of African and Western influences Its roots are in WestAfrican music and funk However it has evolved into a new genre His political activism was fierce and fearless He made use of his music to protest government corruption and human rights violations Songs like Zombie and Coffin for the Head of State were bold critiques of the Nigerian regime He also made use of Kalakuta as a platform to gather likeminded people and to encourage political activism The play includes a large portrait of his mother who died in the past Funmilayo ransomeKuti She was a renowned feminist and activist She is played by actress Shantel Cribbs who has successfully communicated her importance in the life of Fela The play also explores her political activism Despite her deteriorating health she was unable to get checked for AIDS and instead chose traditional treatments He was a musician The Fela Ransome Kuti was a complex man who employed his music to facilitate political change He is renowned for his creation of Afrobeat a mix of dirty funk with traditional African rhythms He was a fervent 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 believed that he would eventually become a doctor but he had other plans A trip to America changed his outlook forever Exposure to Black power movements and the leaders like Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver had a profound effect on his music He developed the PanAfricanism philosophy that would influence and guide his later work He was a music producer Fela met Black Power activists like Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X while in the United States The experience inspired him to start a political movement called the Movement of the People and to compose songs that reflected his ideas on black and political consciousness His philosophical ideas were aired in public through the method of yabis which is which is a form of public speaking that is referred to as freedom of expression He also began to impose strict moral codes for his band such as refusing to take medicine from Westerntrained doctors Fela returned to Nigeria and started building his own club in Ikeja The frequent raids by police and military officials was almost constant MosholashiIdiOros hangerson repopulated the area surrounding the club with hard drugs particularly bana and yamuna heroin But despite this Fela kept his integrity unshaken His music speaks to his determination in challenging authority and ensuring that the desires of the masses are recognized in official goals It is an enduring legacy that will endure for generations He was a poet Felas music employed sarcasm and humor to bring attention to the political and economic issues in Nigeria He also mocked his fans as well as the government and himself In these shows he referred to himself as the big dick in the pond with a little These jokes were not taken lightly by the authorities and he suffered repeated arrests and beatings in the hands of authorities He eventually renamed himself Anikulapo meaning he has death in his pouch In 1977 Fela released a song called Zombie in which he compared soldiers with mindless zombies who followed orders without asking questions fela lawyers irritated the military which raided the Kalakuta Republic burning it down and beating its inhabitants During the raid Felas mother was thrown from her secondfloor through a window In the decades following the independence of Nigeria Fela created Afrobeat an genre of music that combines jazz with native African rhythm His songs criticised European imperialism in culture and praised African traditional religions and cultures He also criticized fellow Africans who sabotaged their countrys traditions He stressed the importance of freedom and human rights He was a hiphop artist A saxophonist trumpeter composer and pioneer of the Afrobeat genre Fela AnikulapoKuti was born in 1938 in Abeokuta Nigeria He grew up with jazz and rock and roll as well as traditional African music and chants which helped shape his style of music After his trip to the United States in 1969 Fela met Sandra Smith an activist from the Black Power movement and her ideas affected his work profoundly When he returned to Nigeria Fela began using his music as a tool for political purposes He criticized the government in his home country and insisted that African culture should not be submerged by Western sensibilities He also wrote about social inequities and human rights violations and was often detained for his criticism of the military Fela was also a proponent of marijuana in Africa and is referred to as igbo He held yabis public discussions at the Afrika Shrine where he would ridicule officials of the government and share his opinions regarding freedom of expression and the beauty of womens body Fela had an harem which was a group of young women who performed in his shows and also backed him vocally He was a dancer Fela was a master of musical fusion He incorporated elements of jazz beat music and highlife into his own distinctive style He influenced generations of African musicians and was a vocal critic of colonial rule Fela refused despite being detained and tortured by the Nigerian military junta as well having witnessed the murder of his mother He died in 1997 of AIDSrelated complications Fela was a wellknown political activist who criticized the oppressive Nigerian Government and endorsed the principles Pan Africanism His albums including 1973s Gentleman focused on the oppression of both the government and colonial political parties He also advocated black power 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 transports filled with working poor people shuffering and smiling Fela was a fierce enemy of religious hypocrisy Felas music was in turn complemented by his dancers who were vibrant elegant sensual and beautiful Their contributions were as significant as Felas lyrics He was a political militant Fela Kuti was an activist who utilized music to challenge unjust authority He adapted his knowledge of American jazz and funk to African patterns and rhythms making a sound that was ready for fight Most of his songs start with slowburning instrumentals then layering little riffs and longlined melodies until they burst with urgency Unlike many artists who were hesitant to expose their political beliefs Fela was fearless and unbending He stood in the cause he believed in even when it was risky Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was a feminist who led 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 grew into an emblem of the resistance The government raided Kalakutas Republic which destroyed property and injuring Fela He refused to give up and continued to speak against the government He died in 1997 from complications related to AIDS He was succeeded by his son Femi who continues to carry on his music and political legacy He was a father Music is often thought of as a political act with musicians using lyrics to call for change But some of the most powerful musicrelated protests dont rely on words at all Fela Kuti is one of these artists and his music still rings today He pioneered Afrobeat that combines traditional African harmonies and rhythms with funk and jazz being influenced by artists such as 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 Nigeria should serve its whole population Felas son Seun is continuing his fathers work with the band Egypt 80 thats touring the world this year The bands music combines the sounds and politics of Felas era with a fervent denial of the same power structures that persist in the present Black Times will be released by the end of March Many fans attended the funeral and paid their respects in Tafawa Balewa Square The crowd was so large that the police had to shut down the entrance