₦airaland Forum

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti passed away 24 years ago.. Post Your Favourite Fela Lyrics And Quotes Here.

I'll go first.

From "Overtake Don Overtake Overtake" (ODOO)

My friend wan come buy fan
Him dey sweat when him dey sleep for room
Him dey for level of 03
The fan na seventy-five naira

My friend him dey for low salary
Him dey try to save and save and save
Every time he nearly buy the fan
Government go add ten naira more
Every time he nearly buy the fan
Government go start one activity
Till the fan reach two hundred naira
My friend nearly die, he never die

My friend he no wan die
Die-die no dey for him dictionary
For where? Huh...
Him dey try to save and save again
Him save for one year and six months

Inside cupboard
Under pillow
Under, under cooking pot
Inside socks
Under carpet
Him dey on his way to buy the fan
When alarm come blow

Wiiiiiaaaaaaaa!

Government announce second tier
Everything come tear to pieces
Everything come expensive
Even water become expensive

Second bass, jare... pop!

Fan don become seven hundred naira
Me and my friend start to look ourselves
He remain small make my friend dey cry
Na laugh laugh he catch monkey
Na now he come understand him life
Enjoyment can never come him way
Na now him life dey go reverse
In Africa, him fatherland
One more time..

Chorus

I get my money
Plan my plan finish
Start to go for market
Start to go for shopping
Before I reach market nko o?
Government show don enter
My plan don spoil o
Government show don enter
My plan don spoil o

Overtake don overtake overtake
Heiya
Overtake don overtake overtake

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti - Overtake Don Overtake Overtake (1988).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSRkRc3lRjk

There are 4 absolute super legends of African music that blazed the trail for Africans on the world stage. They are Fela Anikulapo-Kuti of Nigeria, Hugh Masekela of South Africa, Manu Dibango of Cameroon and Mariam Makeba of South Africa. This post is about two of them.

naptu2:
South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela had not seen his good friend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti for many years, so when he came to perform in Nigeria, he took the opportunity to visit his friend & the following conversation ensued.

Hugh: I heard you got married to 27 women, where are they? I want to see them.

Fela: (Hisses) I divorced them.

Hugh: You divorced them? Why?

Fela: My girlfriends were jealous



Here is Hugh Masekela's cover of Fela's song, Lady.


Hugh Masekela - Lady (1980)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QjO6rHHqpw

Masekela released this song after Fela's death. "There will never be another Fela".

naptu2:
Hugh Masekela's tribute to Fela.


Fela


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi_jU9VnD4w

Brilliance, humour and logic from beautiful madness. That's one of the things I loved about him.

From "Movement Against Second Slavery" (MASS), this is Alhaji Alhaji (Stranger).

♪I

naptu2:
Our government go sell us away.
Selling the continent to make us slaves again

Dem come go Europe, white man wey dey for west, bring am come-o,
Bringing the religion Christianity to go chop us away,
Dem go Arabia, white man wey dey for east,
Bring am come-o Bringing the religion Islam to dey chop us away.

Islam and Christianity bring wars to Africa,
To this-e continent In the centre of the world,
Dem go bring confusion
To the centre of the world
Wetin dis government dey do no be for talk
Na for cry-o
Time don reach for us to call alhajis so . . .
I don travel many places
This the first time I don hear about.
I never hear "alhaji" as title
Only in the country Nigeria
You hear somebody be alhaji "Alhaji so-so-and-so . . ."
We cannot talk about what these governments do-we can only cry

CHORUS: Ye, ye, ye!


Brothers, come and hear this one: "Alhaji" na Arabic language
The meaning of "alhaji" na "stranger" .

(Fela) I Alhaji Umaru Dikko
(Response) Stranger Umaru Dikko!

(FELA): Alhaji Dasuki
(Response) Stranger Dasuki!

(Fela): Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo
(Response): Stranger Mohammadu Gambo!

(Fela): Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari
(Response) Stranger Muhammadu Buhari!

(Fela) Alhaji Moshood Abiola
(Response) Stranger Moshood Abiola!

(Fela) Alhaji Tunde Idiagbon
(Respponse) Stranger Tunde Idiagbon!

(Fela) Alhaji Sani Abacha
(Response) Stranger Sani Abacha!

(Fela) Alhaji Babangida
(Response) Stranger Babangida!

(Fela) Alhaji Raji Rasaki
(Response) Stranger Raji Rasaki!

(Fela) Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji
(Response) Stranger Abubakar Stranger!

(Fela) Alhaji! (Response) Stranger, (Fela) Mohammed, (Response) stranger! (Fela) Alhaji! (Response) Stranger (Fela) Ibrahim, (Response) stranger! FELA: Alhaji!

This na revelation. Revelation of our ancestors. Offender must point at himself. Brothers and sisters hear me. This is a revelation A revelation of our ancestors. The offender must point at himself. Brothers and sisters hear me:

Mothers and fathers hear me. Na stranger dey rule our country!

(Response) For inside police. For inside air force. For inside navy. For inside government

(Fela) Dem dey control am! Mothers and Fathers

♬

naptu2:
This song is also known as "Alhaji Alhaji". I'm going to post two versions of the song. The beginning of the first video is 18+ (L).

It sounds like the audio in the second video was recorded at Shrine and you know what happens at shrine . As usual a brave (or stupid) fellow yabbed Fela and Fela focussed his attention on the guy and yabbed his life away. The yabbis is also 18+ (L).

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti - Music Against Second Slavery (MASS).



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Ms1QVg_f4

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti - Music Against Second Slavery (MASS) (Live at the Shrine).



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_kwPfIGizo

Lekki Sun Splash (Dec 1993)

The crowd urged Fela to "yab" Abacha, since he hadn't yabbed Abacha the way he had yabbed Babangida.

"Wetin una want make I talk? In the country of the blind the one eyed man is leading" (Abacha was cross-eyed).

"We get Babangida we think say things bad, now Abacha don come and everything turn to basha basha"

Many leaders as you see dem
Na different disguise dem dey oh
Animal in human skin
Animal e put u tie oh
Animal e wear agbada
Animal e put u suit u


These disguising leaders oh, na wah for dem
Dem hold meeting everywhere, dem reach America

These disguising leaders oh, na wah for dem
Dem hold meeting everywhere, dem reach America

Dem call the place United Nations
Hear oh another animal talk
Wetin united inside United Nations?
Who & who unite for United Nations?
No be there Thatcher & Argentina dey
No be there Reagan & Libya dey
Israel versus Lebanon
Iran oh versus Iraq-i
East West Block versus West Block East
No be there dem dey oh United Nations
Dis "united" United Nations
One veto vote is equal to 92...or more, or more
What kind sense be dat, na animal sense



Dem go hold meeting oh, Dem go start yap human beings
Animal talk don start again
Dash dem human rights

Dem go hold meeting oh, Dem go start yap human beings
Animal talk don start again
Dash dem human rights
Give dem human rights


How animal go know say dem no born me as slave?
How animal go know say slave trade don pass?

And, they wan dash us human rights
Animal must talk to human beings
Give dem human rights


I beg e oh, make you hear me well-u well
I beg e oh, make you hear me very well
Human rights na my property
So therefore, you can't dash me my property
Human rights na my property
Dey wan dash us human rights


Some people say why I dey talk like dis
No be talk like dis dem take to carry me go prison ee-oh"
No be me dey talk, na Prime Minister Botha dey talk ee-oh
No be me dey talk, na Prime Minister Botha dey talk ee-oh

Him say, this uprising will bring out the beast in us
This uprising will bring out the beast in us


Him say, this uprising will bring out the beast in us
This uprising will bring out the beast in us

Ke ji keke
My argument

Botha na friend to Thatcher & Reagan
Botha na friend to some other leaders too
And together dem wan dash us human rights
Animal wan dash us human rights
Animal can't dash me human rights
Animal can't dash us human rights

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti - Beast Of No Nation live at the Zenith in Paris in 1984.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0BhNPiq78k

With Fela, where does one start?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i99w2T8nQB4

Me and you no dey for the same-u category
Me and you no dey for the same-u category
Me and you no dey for the same-u category
Me and you no dey for the same-u category
Na the same category-o (Category)
Na the same category-o (Category)
Na the same category-o (Category)
Na the same category-o (Category)
Na the same category-o (Category)
Na the same category-o (Not the same category)
Na the same category-o (Not the same category)
Na the same category-o (Not the same category)
Na the same category-o (Not the same category)
Na the same category-o (Not the same category)
Na the same category-o (Not the same category)
Na the same category-o (Not the same category)
Na the same category-o (Not the same category)
Na the same category-o (Not the same category)
Na the same category-o
Na the same category-o
Na the same category-o
Na the same category-ooo

budaatum:
With Fela, where does one start?

That part is hypnotic.

naptu2:
That part is hypnotic.

Like he puts juju in the lyrics.

Picture 1 and 2) Fela created a political party called Movement of the People in order to fight against the suffering of Nigerians. FEDECO refused to register it but he held a protest march to TBS/launched the party in 1978 and these are pictures of the march/rally.


Picture 3) Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti leading a protest march after the death of their mother

naptu2 on the beat with Fela

Water
E no get enemy