MAJOR MUSIC ARTISTS - NIGERIA
DESCRIPTION: Fela Kuti
ACTIVITY STATUS: Departed
ACTIVITY PERIOD: 1958 – 1997
MUSIC GENRE: Afrobeat, Highlife
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: NIGERIA
RECORD COMPANIES / LABELS (Current & Past): Barclay/PolyGram, MCA/Universal, Celluloid, EMI Nigeria, JVC, Wrasse, Shanachie, Knitting Factory
OFFICIAL WEB SITE: http://www.felaproject.net/
ABOUT HIM:
FELA KUTI
(1938 - 1997)
The most politicised and outspoken of the recent wave of African musicians, Kuti created a unique fusion of African music, rock music and jazz, resulting in his own definitive big band sound. Though not initially political, he went on to make music which was ever more so, including classic tracks like Zombie. Born into a middle class family in Lagos, he studied in London as a young man, but returned to Nigeria in the early 1960s where he formed his band the Koola Lobitos (later the Afro-Beats). After coming into contact with the ideas of the Black Power movement of the 1970s, he began to write more political songs which made him popular among Nigeria’s millions of underprivileged, but persona non grata with the right-wing national regime. He was harrassed, subjected to physical attack, and at one point jailed on currency charges. His music always retained enormous vigour, vitality and political edge, and during the 1980s he gained a following in Western countries. His popularity was still on the increase when he died in 1997, aged 58 from an AIDS related illness.
By Larry Buttrose
VIDEO:
Parent Category Page Links: | Music Artists / Outfits - Nigeria |
Please contribute any writings or images to this page if you have more information or history to share with the Music Industrapedia Community on FELA KUTI. Please visit our Contributions page for details. Also, please feel free to discuss the development of this page by clicking on the "DISCUSS" link at the bottom right hand side of this page.