Music is the weapon. The past ten or so years have witnessed a western appreciation of Fela Kuti that would have seemed implausible just a decade prior. From the Broadway success of the Fela! musical, to the ongoing celebrity-endorsed reissue series, Kuti’s music, and (with it) message have reached a far broader audience than ever achieved during the Nigerian musician’s own lifetime.
Category: Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti :: Music Is The Weapon (Documentary, 1982)
Clocking in at an incredibly potent 53 minutes, Music Is The Weapon was shot in Lagos in 1982 chronicling the Nigerian juggernaut that was Fela Kuti. Helmed by French director/cinematographer Jean-Jacques Flori, the film […]
The Don Isaac Ezekiel Combination :: Amalinja
Spinning Fela Kuti’s proto- Africa 70 band, Koola Lobitos, for an upcoming program, I was reminded of just how seminal, loose (and great) this period of his career arc can be. And if […]
Fela Kuti In Performance / Ginger Baker Footage (1971)
Netflix is currently streaming Ginger Baker In Africa , an incredibly loose documentary surrounding the British percussion wizard’s trip from Algeria to Lagos, Nigeria in November of 1971. And by ‘loose’ I mean 53 […]
Fela Kuti :: Spotify – Twenty Tracks
Fela Kuti :: Comprehensive Catalog Reissues
Reissues are nothing new. But last year, when news of the promise of the reissued Fela Kuti catalog surfaced, there was reason to get excited. The newly resurfaced Knitting Factory Records is responsible […]
Black Man’s Cry :: The Inspiration of Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti, Feliciano dos Santos, Afrobeat & Western Interpretation
Hailing from the Niassa province of Mozambique, singer-songwriter Feliciano dos Santos is little-known outside of his native country, despite receiving praise from the likes of the New York Times, PBS, the Guardian and […]
Fela Kuti :: Koola Lobitos ’69 Los Angeles Sessions
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