Music Bloodline

Search

Fela Kuti

International

1960s - 1990s

Nigerian singer who was a key figure in the development of Afro-beat, blending agit-prop lyrics and dance rhythms as a medium for social protest.

Biography

It's almost impossible to overstate the impact and importance of Fela Anikulapo (Ransome) Kuti (or just Fela, as he's more commonly known) to the global musical village: producer, arranger, musician, political radical, outlaw. Combining James Brown-style singing with elements of traditional highlife and jazz, Fela dubbed this intensely rhythmic hybrid "Afro-beat." He was not only the inventor of Afro-beat, but a showman par excellence, an unredeemable sexist, and a moody megalomaniac. His death in 1997 of complications from AIDS deeply affected musicians and fans internationally, as a musical and sociopolitical voice on a par with Bob Marley was silenced. ~ John Dougan

Top Tracks

Discography

Influences

Artists Influenced by Fela Kuti

Built by Marc Neuwirth. Powered by Rovi.