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(according to some accounts) in the
s, Fela played around
with it and further transformed it, in uenced in part by
spending several months in
in Los Angeles with his band.
(Anyone in the US unfamiliar with Kuti would recognize the
sounds he directly in uenced—from entire albums such as
the Talking Heads’ masterpiece
Remain in Light
[which will be
given a distinctively modern Afro-in uenced performance by
Femi Kuti’s present touring partner, Angélique Kidjo], or as
sampled in songs by Missy Elliott and Alicia Keys.)
Beyond his music, Fela is just as revered in parts of Africa
for his politics. As his pro le as a musician grew, he also be-
came a crusader for human rights and a vocal opponent of the
corrupt Nigerian military that governed the country. It seems
he grew into this role quite naturally, thanks to the example set
by his well-known mother: Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was an
educator, women’s su rage campaigner, and outspoken crusad-
er in the anticolonial movement.
Fela developed an Afrobeat that entwined both strands of
his psychic DNA: e popular beats carried lyrics that dove
head rst into sociopolitical matters. Driving rhythms and call-
and-response vocals were a perfect musical vehicle to spread
messages about inequality and independence.
Fela Kuti and his band developed a commune called
Kalakuta Republic; it contained everything from housing to a
health clinic to a recording studio, and it was a hub for political
activity as much as music making. But it was raided and burnt
to the ground in
. During the attack, Fela was severely
beaten and Funmilayo was thrown from a window. It was
murder: his mother fell into a coma and eventually died from
her injuries.
Fela’s saga continued until his death in
. He took more
than two dozen wives in a polygamous ceremony; he tried
to run for president, but his candidacy was blocked; and he
was jailed by Nigerian authorities and deemed a prisoner
of conscience by Amnesty International. It’s no wonder his
life inspired several lm documentaries, as well as the
Broadway musical simply titled
Fela!
[conceived, directed, and
featuring Tony-winning choreography by Bill T. Jones, the
creator of Ravinia’s Lincoln-bicentennial stage commission
Fondly Do We Hope … Fervently Do We Pray
].
is is the complicated, heavy history Femi Kuti
carries with him. Yes, he inherited the gi of his
musicianship and a famous surname. Still, it’s
inexorably entwined with more strife than any
American musical family—any Jackson or
Wilson or Osmond—could truly imagine.
For his part, Femi says he avoids labeling
his music. “I really would not like to put
anything on it. I say just ‘music from my
perspective,’ ” observes Kuti, who’s earned
four Grammy nominations over the course of
two decades for Best World Music Album. “Of
course, I am very in uenced by my background
and things that happened here in Africa. If I lived
somewhere very quiet, my music might sound
more classical. But because I live somewhere with so
father’s songs.
There was always
a big competition
in the house of
who would learn
all the lyrics to my
RAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 6 – AUGUST 19, 2018
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