Bio
Nigerian singer, musician and songwriter, Fela Anikulapo Kuti pioneer of afrojuju genre(combination of funk, jazz, and Yoruba chants) is arguably the most iconic legends of all time in Nigeria.
Influenced by the politics of the ‘Black Panther Party, Fela immediately became prolific civil right activist in Nigeria giving his music voice in exposing and opposing injustice, corruption and bad governance.
Early life in Nigeria
Born on october 15, 1938, in abeokuta, Nigeria to a feminist and labour activist Funmilayo Ransome-kuti. After completing high school in Abeokuta, Kuti was briefly employed as a clerk at the ‘Federal Ministry of Commerce’ before being sent to London to study medicine.
Arriving at the Trinity college London in the late 1950's, he decided to switch to music, enrolling at the Trinity College of Music. He formed his first band called Koola Lobitos which he played in college in London. After moving back to Nigeria in 1963, he re-formed the band, trained as a radio producer, and worked with trumpeter Victor Olaiya.
Afrika 70
In 1969, Kuti and his associates embarked on a 10-month trip of the US, where he met Sandra Izsadore, a ‘Black Panther’ activist who introduced him to the politics of Malcolm X and other ‘Black Power’ advocates. Kuti was fascinated, and later credited this experience as the catalyst for much of his activism. During this period, he also renamed his band ‘Nigeria ‘70.’ After running into trouble with the US immigration authorities, Kuti returned to Nigeria, where he again changed the band name to ‘Afrika ‘70.’.
After this trip, the band began to focus more on socio-political issues, instead of exclusively romantic concerns. In 1974, Kuti built a fence around his house and created a sovereign commune, the ‘Kalakuta Republic.’ This location housed a recording studio.
Politics and assination attempts
In 1979 Fela formed a political party, the Movement of the People, and ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of Nigeria. Five years later he was jailed for 20 months on charges of currency smuggling. Upon his release, he turned away from active political protest and left his son, Femi, to carry the torch of Afro-beat music. Fela was jailed again in 1993 for murder, but the charges were eventually dropped.
In 1977, he, along with and ‘Afrika ‘70,’ released ‘Zombie,’ a politically charged piece that decried the methods of the Nigerian military. Although exceedingly popular with the public, this album invited swift and terrible backlash from the government, which sent 1000 soldiers to attack the ‘Kalakuta Republic,’ destroyed his property, injured Kuti, and threw his elderly mother from a window. His mother later succumbed to her injuries and him exiled to Ghana. On August 3, 1997, He died as a result of complications from AIDS.