Afrobeat has become a global music genre loved by many music listeners and critics so much that music makers across the globe are increasingly adopting the sound that originated in Africa and Nigeria.
Like every other successful innovation, someone or a group of people is responsible. In the case of the Afrobeat music genre, the legendary Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti is accorded credit as the pioneer and founder of the sound, which has grown over the years, attracting a global audience due to the hard work of not just the pioneer, Fela, but also that of his successors and emerging musical artists, particularly those of Nigerian descent.
Fela’s Afrobeat is a genre of music known for its infectious rhythms, politically charged lyrics, and vibrant energy. It is a complex fusion of jazz, funk, highlife, and traditional Nigerian and African chants and rhythms, and it also contains elements of psychedelic soul music. In a nutshell, it combines West African music with American funk and jazz. This unusual combination makes it uneasy not to nod one’s head or move the legs in a seemingly uncontrollable dancing manner upon hearing the sound, to which modern innovation has contributed immensely in refining and beautifying its aural aesthetics. Regardless, Afrobeat wouldn’t be what it is today without the pioneering influence of Fela Kuti.
The music legend, born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti in 1938 in Abeokuta, Nigeria, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and pan-Africanist. He attended Abeokuta Grammar School and is credited with having revolutionized music in his era and for also becoming a symbol of resistance and a voice for the oppressed while simultaneously being regarded as the king of Afrobeat. He was a polygamist with over two dozen wives.
FELA Kuti’s musical journey began in London, where he studied classical music at Trinity College, defying his parents’ desire for him to study medicine, unlike his brothers, Beko Ransome-Kuti and Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, who at the time were very popular medical practitioners in Nigeria. During his time in the vibrant music scene of the 1960s in Lagos, he found his true calling and eventually founded a band, Africa ’70, with whom he developed the Afrobeat genre in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His preferred instrument was the trumpet.
Though lovely and enjoyable, Fela’s style of music was not solely aimed at entertaining music listeners but was also utilized as perhaps a subtle tool to address societal issues, corruption, and human rights abuses, as his lyrics were often hypnotic and politically charged. Some considered his music a powerful tool for social and political commentary. For instance, songs like “Zombie” and “Water No Get Enemy” directly confronted the Nigerian government and military regimes. However, his fearless critique of authority led to frequent clashes with the establishment, including arrests and violent encounters, one of which he was seriously beaten and severely injured alongside his mother, who was also fatally injured after being thrown from a window by soldiers who raided his Kalakuta commune in 1977 after the release of the Zombie album, which heavily criticized Nigerian soldiers. Fela, in the album, used the zombie metaphor to describe the Nigerian military’s methods. The album recorded significant success but also infuriated the government, which sent 1,000 soldiers to raid the Kalakuta Republic, which the singer had earlier declared independent of the military government.
Fela’s Kalakuta Republic was established in 1970 and encompassed a recording studio while serving as a haven for political activists. The commune eventually became a focal point for the singers’ anti-establishment activities and a symbol of resistance against oppression, despite facing multiple raids and assaults from the Nigerian government.
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti’s tendencies toward activism proved one of the known influences of his parents on his life. His mother, Chief Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who was the first woman to drive a car in Nigeria, was a known anti-colonial feminist, and his father, Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, was an Anglican minister, school principal, and the first president of the Nigeria Union of Teachers. Kuti’s parents are said to have significantly contributed to the anti-colonial movement in Nigeria, most notably the Abeokuta Women’s Riots, which were led by his mother in 1946.
In the early 1980s, Fela’s political tendencies became even more glaring after he nominated himself for president upon Nigeria’s attempt to return to civilian rule in 1983. Before this, the singer founded a political party in 1979, which he called the Movement of the People (MOP). According to him, he wanted to “clean up society like a mop,” but sources say that it quickly became inactive due to his confrontations with the government of the day.
He was jailed in 1984 by the General Muhammadu Buhari regime on charges of currency smuggling and was released after 20 months by the General Ibrahim Babangida regime. Also on January 21, 1993, he and four members of his band, Africa 70, were arrested and later charged on January 25 for the murder of an electrician, bringing the number of his recorded arrest cases to two.
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti, as he is popularly called, is a cousin to prominent Nigerian writer and noble laureate, Wole Soyinka, whose maternal great-grandfather, Josiah Ransome-Kuti, is Kuti’s paternal grandfather.
Meanwhile, Fela’s lifestyle, musical prowess, and innovation continually spark conversations across panels and borders and have become a force to reckon with in the history of music in Nigeria, Africa, and the world at large. His legacies remain a beacon of hope and an inspiration to many young singers or musical artists in Nigeria and beyond, even as his biological sons, Femi Kuti, and Seun Kuti, have extended the musical inclination of their family to a second generation, preserving their father’s legacy while adding their unique perspectives to the genre.
He has, to his credit, 42 studio albums, five live albums, and three compilations across an active musical career that spanned three decades and nine years from 1958 to 1997.
He unfortunately died from complications suspected to be related to AIDS on August 3, 1997. Though his widow discredited the claims, no other causes have been made known to the public to date.
One thing to note is that Fela’s lifestyle was as unconventional as his music. He embraced Yoruba spirituality, practiced polygamy, and often wore flamboyant clothing. His commitment to authenticity extended to his rejection of societal norms and challenging of conventional expectations, and with all these, he has left a mark, left a legacy, and had a global impact on younger generations, even as his influence extends far beyond his lifetime and his music has found resonance worldwide, inspiring artists across genres.
Afrobeat big birds in contemporary times such as Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Tuface Idibia, and several others have repeatedly stated how the music legend inspired their love and passion for the kind of music that they do, which has formed the basis of their lives successes.
Even Rema, the rave lord, once attributed his source of inspiration to Fela Kuti, even though this birthed a controversy in cyberspace as several social media users opined that the singer was too young and never could have listened to Fela so much to have been inspired by the legend’s musical prowess.
Regardless, afrobeat lives on and continues to evolve, with contemporary artists blending its traditional elements with modern styles.
In 2021, Fela Kuti was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, solidifying his place among music legends.
