This weeks world music artist is the great Nigerian born and originator of Afrobeat music, Fela Kuti. I first got hip to Fela as I used to take my almost weekly drive to Amoeba Records in Hollywood. On the radio every Saturday afternoon was an African music program on station KPFK (90.7). This program played a lot of great African music and is how I got hip to Fela. I only have about seven Fela cd's in my collection (at the moment) but intend to get more soon. I recently rented a movie titled The Visitor which had an older white guy trying to learn to play the African drum. The kid teaching him asked him "you don't know Fela? Man, you got to listen to Fela" and later gave him a cd of Fela's music to check out. Since watching that movie I have pulled out several of my Fela cd's and am rediscovering this music all over again.
Fela was a saxophone and keyboard player and led a band of many musicians and dancers performing the Afrobeat style of music created by Fela which is a fusion of jazz, funk, and traditional West African chants and rhythms. Fela used his music to convey his views on the government and the military. Although Fela's music was extremely popular with the people it infuriated the government leading to attacks against Fela including beatings, phony charges, burning of his recording studio and even the throwing of his mother out of a window.
Fela has a storied career in that he formed his own political party, ran for President and in 1978 married 27 women (wow!)
Although there are a lot of videos of Fela on YouTube that you can check out, the video (photo montage) I selected is of one of my favorite Fela tunes titled Water No Get Enemy. Check it out. Remember it is my duty to hip you to these things you may be unaware of. Enjoy!
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