"Fela" redirects here. For the Broadway musical based on his life, see Fela!
Fela Kuti
Kuti in 1970
Background information
Birth name
Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti
Born
(1938-10-15)15 October 1938 Abeokuta, British Nigeria
Died
2 August 1997(1997-08-02) (aged 58) Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
Genres
Afrobeat
Occupation(s)
Musician
bandleader
activist
Instrument(s)
Saxophone
vocals
keyboards
trumpet
guitar
drums
Years active
1958–1997
Labels
Barclay/PolyGram
MCA/Universal
Celluloid
EMI Nigeria
Jofabro Nigeria
JVC
Wrasse
Shanachie
Knitting Factory
Website
felakuti.com
Musical artist
Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938[1] – 2 August 1997), also famously known as Abàmì Ẹ̀dá, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the King of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre that combines West African music with African-American funk and jazz.[2] At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa's most "challenging and charismatic music performers".[3] AllMusic described him as "a musical and sociopolitical voice" of international significance.[4]
Kuti was the son of Nigerian women's rights activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. After early experiences abroad, he and his band Africa 70 (featuring drummer and musical director Tony Allen) shot to stardom in Nigeria during the 1970s, during which he was an outspoken critic and target of Nigeria's military juntas.[4] In 1970, he founded the Kalakuta Republic commune, which declared itself independent from military rule. The commune was destroyed in a 1978 raid that injured Kuti and his mother.[5] He was jailed by the government of Muhammadu Buhari in 1984, but released after 20 months. He continued to record and perform through the 1980s and 1990s. Since his death in 1997, reissues and compilations of his music have been overseen by his son, Femi Kuti.[4]
^"Fela Kuti – 10 of the best". The Guardian. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
^Albert Oikelome. "Stylistic Analysis of Afrobeat Music of Fela Anikulapo Kuti" (PDF). Analysisworldmusic.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
^Grass, Randall F. (1 January 1986). "Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: The Art of an Afrobeat Rebel". The Drama Review: TDR. 30 (1): 131–148. doi:10.2307/1145717. JSTOR 1145717.
^ abcFela Kuti at AllMusic
^Cite error: The named reference Barrett_1998 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also famously known as Abàmì Ẹ̀dá, was a Nigerian musician...
This is a discography for Fela Anikulapo Kuti, or simply Fela, a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of afrobeat music, human...
Afrobeat arose from the mind and spirit of Nigeria’s FelaKuti who, like Beyoncé, is identified on a first-name basis. Throughout the 1970s he fused James...
Anikulapo Kuti (born 11 January 1983), popularly known Seun Kuti, is a Nigerian musician, singer and the youngest son of Afrobeat pioneer FelaKuti. Seun...
pioneer FelaKuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, women's rights activist and traditional aristocrat Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. Femi Kuti began his...
late father FelaKuti to the Nigerian society. Born in England, Anikulapo-Kuti was born as the first child to afrobeat pioneer FelaKuti and to a British...
Femi Kuti. The album was produced by Sodi Marciszewer who had worked with FelaKuti in the past and was released under Partisan Records. Femi Kuti's Stop...
The Best Best of FelaKuti is a 2-CD compilation album by Nigerian Afrobeat artist FelaKuti, released in 1999 by MCA Records. It was issued in the United...
several years in the 1970s living and recording in Africa, often with FelaKuti, in pursuit of his long-time interest in African music. Among Baker's...
sensibilities with influence from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and FelaKuti. From the early 1980s, they included additional musicians in their recording...
pioneering Afrobeat artist FelaKuti and his Africa '70 band, released in 1975. It was reissued in 2000 by MCA Records, packaged with Kuti's He Miss Road (1975)...
multi-instrumentalist FelaKuti. It was recorded in 1977 and originally released on the Nigerian Kalakuta label. Over a midtempo groove, and interspersed with Kuti's relaxed...
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