Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti is better known as Fela Kuti. Fela was a musician and political activist. He was one of the most influential African musicians of the 20th century. He is the originator of the Afrobeat genre of music.
Fela Kuti was born on October 15, 1938, into the family of Isreal Oludotun and Fumilayo Ransome-Kuti. He was born in his hometown, Abeokuta, in Ogun State. His father was a Reverend, while his mother was a well-known feminist and anti-colonial activist.
Fela had two brothers, Olikoye and Beko Ransome-Kuti. They were both well-respected medical doctors in Nigeria.
Fela Kuti’s Early Life and Education
Fela was born into a wealthy family and lived a comfortable life. He gained a good primary and secondary education. Fela went to school at the Abeokuta Grammar School. After his secondary education in 1958, his parents sent him to Britain, hoping he would become a medical doctor.
When he arrived in Britain, Fela decided to study music. He enrolled in Trinity Music College to pursue his desire. It was there that he started playing trumpets and formed his first band, Koola Lobitos.
Fela Kuti’s Music and Career
Fela returned to Nigeria in 1963. He and his band continued to make music in Nigeria. While on a tour of the United States in 1969, he met Sandra Isadore (Smith), a civil rights activist and member of the Black Panther Party. Sandra Smith significantly changed Fela’s music and introduced him to the writings of black activists like Malcolm X, Angela Davis, etc.
She also educated him on social and political issues. His lyrics stopped being jolly and romantic and became more political and rebellious. Fela became an activist. He changed his surname from Ransome to the indigenous Anikulapo. Fela also changed the name of his band to Afrika’70 and the music they began to make focused more on social issues.
Kuti’s music was based on purely African rhythms with calypso, reggae, and jazz elements. They also had a fusion of highlife and Yoruba backgrounds. This music became known as Afrobeat. The genre has resonated through the years as a prominent style of Nigerian music.
Fela’s songs became well known for their unique call-and-response pattern. They usually lasted about 10-15 minutes. One time, when asked why his music was this long, he said, “Bach and Beethoven did not play short.” Fela performed most of his songs in the colloquial ‘Pidgin English’; a few were Yoruba.
Fela’s Legacy
Throughout his career, Fela recorded over 50 albums. Some of the most popular ones are;
- Fela Fela Fela (1969)
- Zombie (1976)
- No agreement (1977)
- Beast of no Nation (1999)
- Fela Kuti and Political Activism
As time went by, his music became increasingly aggressive. He began to threaten and confront the military dictatorship in Nigeria, and as a result, the Nigerian authorities saw Kuti as a thorn in their flesh.
Soon enough, they began raiding his home. This only motivated him to do more. Fela created a commune in his compound called Kalakuta. Kalakuta was a nickname for the prison cell he stayed in. He declared Kalakuta a Republic independent from the Nigerian state, which provoked the authorities. They began looking for excuses to close down the commune. They found the opportunity when he released the album Zombies.
The lyric of the title song for the album was an explicit mockery of soldiers. It started with how they followed the orders of the authorities like slaves. The military wasn’t pleased with Fela. On February 18th, 1977, soldiers attacked Kalakuta. They beat and evicted everyone and set the house ablaze. Kuti’s club was also destroyed, and he was almost killed.
The worst part of it all was the fact that many of his instruments and master tapes got destroyed. His mother was also thrown from a first-floor window, leading to her tragic death. Although he lost his family, money and resources, he continued producing music. Some of the albums from that time include
- Unknown Soldier
- Sorrow Tears
- Blood, Suffering, Smiling, etc.
The Afrika’70 band fell apart due to a lack of finances, and later, they formed a new band called Egypt 80. This band consisted of young aspiring musicians who looked up to him.
In 1979, Fela formed a political party called the Movement of the People. He ran for the presidency of Nigeria but did not fail. They arrested Fela five years later on account of smuggling currency, for which he received a 2-year sentence.
Fela Kuti’s Wives and Children
Fela was a strong believer in polygamy. This led him to marry several wives and keep several mistresses, most of who were his dancers. He married his first wife, Remi Taylor, in 1660, and they had three children: Femi, Sola, and Yeni Kuti.
In 1978, he married 27 more wives on the same day in a traditional ceremony. The ceremony also doubled as an occasion to mark the February 18th attack that happened in 1877. In 1984, Muhammadu Buhari’s administration arrested him. They claimed that his marriage was causing jealousy and civil unrest. After his release from jail, he divorced most of his wives.
Fela Kuti fathered seven children during his lifetime. His children have also become prominent people in society. They are:
- Yeni Kuti
- Femi Kuti
- Sola Kuti
- Shalewa Kuti
- Seun Kuti
- Motunrayo Kuti
- Kunle Kuti
Fela Kuti’s Death
On the 3rd of August 1997, Fela’s brother Olikoye Ransome-Kuti announced Fela’s death. The cause of his death was complications from HIV/AIDS in Lagos. He died at age 58. His remains were in a glass casket for public viewing. He was later buried at the site of his former club, with millions of people in attendance.
Regardless, Fela’s legacy continues to reign supreme, especially in the Nigerian music space. This is evident from the number of artists who integrate Fela’s sounds into their own and the fact that Nigerian Music is known as Afro beat.
