Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, initially named Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti was born on the 15th of October, 1938 to Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, an Anglican clergy and school principal, and Chief Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, a feminist and activist. Fela Kuti, as he is well-known as, had two siblings, Beko Ransome-Kuti and Olikoye Ransome-Kuti. He is also a first cousin to the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, the very first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
-
Fela studied music at the Trinity College of Music, London in 1959, as against Medicine which his father wanted, like his two other siblings did. In 1960, he married his first wife Remi with whom he had three children, Femi, Yeni and Sola. He returned to a newly independent Nigerian Federation in 1963 after which he worked at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation and played with Victor Olaiya and his band. The name Afrobeat was coined by Fela in 1967 as a mix of jazz, calypso, funk, salsa and traditional Nigerian music. This was the birth of what we have many of our current crop of artistes in Nigeria performing today. The likes of Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, Wizkid, Burna Boy and many others have kept the Afrobeat fire burning.
-
Fela’s music became increasingly politicized after his tour of the United States in 1969 where he was influenced by Malcom X, the Black Panthers and other militant groups especially the civil rights movements. He began singing about the need for social change with records like: “Zombie”, “Monkey-banana”, “Upside-Down”, “Beasts of no Nation” and many others which he performed. He also set up the independent Kalakuta republic which housed his many housewives and faithfuls. The republic suffered consistent raids by the government as Fela’s songs kept him at loggerheads with the military governments of his time. He was a vocal opponent and a huge thorn in their flesh. A raid in 1977 led to the incarceration and death of his mother. While in exile in Ghana, he changed his name to Anikulapo (the one who has death in his pouch) from Ransome, which he claimed was a slave name. Fela ran for president in 1979 under the Movement of the People (MOP), a political party he had founded. In 1984, the government of Gen Muhammadu Buhari incarcerated him on a charge of currency smuggling. A move Amnesty International and other groups claimed was politically motivated. Fela spent 20 months in jail. Again, in 1993, he was jailed for murder, but the charges were later dropped.
-
Fela took time off active political protest and handed over the baton of Afro-beat to his son Femi. His death was announced by his brother, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, who was a prominent AIDS activist and had been a Minister of Health on the 3rd of August, 1997, a day after he died.
-
Fela was many things, but beyond being an icon in African music, many Nigerians see him as a symbol of hope, dauntlessness, resolve and freedom. Even in death, it is almost impossible to forget Fela, the songs he sang, his philosophy, his idiosyncrasy and his life. Today we celebrate what is called Felabration at the Afrika shrine in Ikeja. He is the muse of many contemporary Nigerian musicians, even to those who perform other genres, because Fela is more than just music, Fela is a way of life.