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Comment by e40

4 days ago

It’s sad that we don’t have recordings of his work, and all we really have are people’s recollections of him.

9 comments

e40

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notesinthefield  5 hours ago

I dont know if youre referring to his music as "his work" - quite the opposite, we have a lot!

His family recently began releasing many albums on Bandcamp. Ive been a fan for awhile and this is likely the best collection youll find online : https://felakuti.bandcamp.com/

The Best of the Black President is a good place to start. Dive in! Fela is the godfather of Afrobeat and highlife.

BigTTYGothGF  4 hours ago

> It’s sad that we don’t have recordings of his work

I am literally, while typing this reply, listening to a recording of Fela Kuti right now that I ripped myself from a CD I bought maybe 15 years ago at a physical record store.

("International Thief Thief" off of "Original Suffer Head")

defrost  4 days ago

There are recordings, and video of some his live performances.

  Lemi Ghariokwu, a renowned Nigerian artist and the designer behind 26 of Fela’s iconic album covers, says the fact that this is the first time an African musician gets this honour “just shows that whatever we as Africans need to do, we need to do it five times more.”

Fela Kuti & Africa 70 (Berlin 1978): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr8oRpA2SpE

What withered a little on the vine was his philosophy of pan-africanism.

> all we really have are people’s recollections of him.

His children, former band members (he had big ensembles) are still performing his compositions and in his style.

eg: Seun Kuti performing a Fela Kuti number along with Newen Afrobeat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFSRCG4DrmI

He's still relevant today, he dedicated an entire album to faceless armed thugs operating as state sponsered death squads.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_(album)

  The album was a scathing attack on Nigerian soldiers using the zombie metaphor to describe the methods of the Nigerian military. The album was a smash hit with the people and infuriated the government, setting off a vicious attack against the Kalakuta Republic (a commune that Kuti had established in Nigeria), during which one thousand soldiers attacked the commune.

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj5x6pbJMyU

  • localbolu  2 hours ago

    Scrolled just to see if someone had mentioned the Newen Afrobeat + Seun Kuti session -- just an absolute masterclass.

  • e40  2 days ago

    I appreciate the reply.

    On a podcast recently and they talked a lot about his influence, but didn't play any music. And, when I went to look for it on YT, I didn't find the items you referenced. Thanks!

    • echelon_musk  5 hours ago

      The film that is most mined for recordings is 'Fela Kuti - Music is the Weapon'.

      There's an English cut and a French cut.

      The French cut doesn't hide the cannabis use and you'll see people rolling spliffs and Fela taking his 'Fela Gold' 'medicine' which was something like a cannabis rosin.