Fela!!!

It's really hard to pick any one Fela album because each is so good in their own way. I became interested in Flea's music in the mid 90's. It was his music that got me more aware of liking international music and political music as well. It was all the idea of my friend who loved international music and stuff that was just to the left of center. I had a chance to play with him and once in a while he had odd melodies that had the Fela influence.

My friend also had a radio show on a local college station where for three hours you could hear anything from John Zorn, to The Boredoms to Fela to anything that was really not on the musical landscape of what you would consider traditional. His shows were always full of fun and a learning experience. By the end of the show you would have all these lists of what he played. When you saw him next time you would present the list and without fail he have a copy for me. The four albums with there annotations about each album follow. I sadly cannot give a great description of this wonderful music. I have cut and pasted Allmusic for that, but with a twist I will add a paragraph or two to give you an idea how I feel about it too.

Each album is short by people's standards that is why some albums are paired with another. The other album with each album is great too, but with anything the first album is the keeper of the flame. Now that their is a re-issue campaign by of all labels Knitting Factory the popularity is there again. Also, there is a Fela "musical" I am sure that is the only way to do it, and I will go see it. One last thing about his music, I had a friend who was getting married and on the trip up to the wedding I had a friend with me and she asked me to put music in the CD player that she did not normally hear. I pulled out the Fela and she was quickly converted. I hope to convert you as well. Listen and enjoy!



With the first album on the Fela listening plate I give you an album that did not take long for me to be convinced. It's mix of Afro-Funk and also comparisons to James Brown or George Clinton it rightfully feels like a great album with wonderful sounds. Without even knowing It was my first introduction to his music and is a good introduction to what Fela met to the Nigerian people. His influence stretches far and wide and this is the best result of that.



This disc is an overt response to the consistent harassment afflicting Fela Kuti's Kalakuta Republic in the early '70s under the oppressive Lagos authorities. The title track is a direct reference to an actual incident that occurred in which the cops planted a marijuana cigarette on Kuti -- who promptly swallowed it and therefore destroyed any evidence. He was then held until he could pass the drugs from his system -- which miraculously did not occur when his fecal sample was then sent for analysis, thanks to some help from his fellow inmates. Because of the costs incurred during this debacle, Kuti proclaimed his excrement as Expensive Shit.

The beats are infectious with a hint of Latin influence, making the music nearly impossible to keep from moving to. Although the band is large, it is also remarkably tight and malleable enough to accompany and punctuate Kuti's vehement and indicting lyrics. The nature of what Kuti says, as well as infers, amounts to much more than simply whining or bad-rapping the law. His witty and thoughtful raps not only relate his side of the incident, but do so with tongue-in-cheek humor -- such as the statement that his oppressors must really enjoy his feces because they want to examine it so urgently. Yet, he tries to stay away from it, for somewhat obvious reasons.

The beats are infectious with a hint of Latin influence, making the music nearly impossible to keep from moving to. Although the band is large, it is also remarkably tight and malleable enough to accompany and punctuate Kuti's vehement and indicting lyrics. The nature of what Kuti says, as well as infers, amounts to much more than simply whining or bad-rapping the law. His witty and thoughtful raps not only relate his side of the incident, but do so with tongue-in-cheek humor -- such as the statement that his oppressors must really enjoy his feces because they want to examine it so urgently.



The next album is full of music unlike some of his albums being short this one is a full length album with a lot of power. The inspiration of the falling of his mother is the power of this album. This album also is around as a two-fer too. It is an album that never gets old and does have some great musical inspiration. Enjoy yet another classic from the cannon of Fela Kuti.

These masterpieces were pivotal accomplishments for Kuti, as they solidified his rise from mere social commentator to fiercely determined cultural leader. Recorded after the brutal raid of his Kalaluta compound and the consequent death of his mother, they comprise two of the most personal statements Kuti ever made. "Coffin for Head of State" denounces the corrosive effect of Christian and Muslim influence on African life and takes to task the leaders that perpetuate the "Bad bad bad things/Through Jesus Christ our Lord." It takes its name from a protest in which Kuti and a group of supporters laid a coffin on the steps of Christian leader Olusegun Obasanjo's Dodan Barracks, the headquarters of the military government.

An epic 31-minute tribute to his fallen mother, "Unknown Soldier" is one of the most ambitious recordings of Kuti's career which describes in frightening detail the events that transpired on the eve of the Kalakuta raid, including the rape of several women, beatings, mutilation, and the throwing of his mother ("the Mother of Nigeria") out of a window. The official police report after the raid blamed the attack on "unknown soldiers," and in response to this fantastic cover-up, Kuti gives a tortured, powerful performance of some of his most vivid and incendiary music -- music that was in many ways the ideological equal of the physical torture that Kuti and his company had endured.



The first actual album of Fela I ever owned was the one above. It's musical guest and musical genius of Ginger Baker. He is on only two tracks and this album is not as a live album goes. It is an album that was my guess recorded live in the studio with a few guests. It's hard to find a good issue of this album a while back because of so many rights to put it on CD at one point. My friend told me that certain issues were pretty bad quality and some others were perfect. Some of the bad ones had poor pitch and some had sounded liked they miked the speakers coming from the CD player. Of all the Fela album this might be considered the most commercial, the hardest at one point to find.

Originally released in 1971, this LP had Fela Kuti solidifying the format that would take him into international visibility in the years to come: extended tracks with grooves that mixed African and funk rhythms, punctuated by rudimentary lyrics. There are just four songs on the album, none shorter than seven minutes, and all but one going over the ten-minute mark.



Considered the classic of all classics in Afro-Pop. A really great album that makes it's presents known. The title track is an amazing display of what makes Fela a legend. If you can find this then I do suggest to go this route. Enjoy!

Gentleman is both an Africa 70 and Afro-beat masterpiece. High marks go to the scathing commentary that Fela Kuti lets loose but also to the instrumentation and the overall arrangements, as they prove to be some of the most interesting and innovative of Fela's '70s material. When the great tenor saxophone player Igo Chico left the Africa 70 organization in 1973, Fela Kuti declared he would be the replacement. So in addition to bandleader, soothsayer, and organ player, Fela picked up the horn and learned to play it quite quickly -- even developing a certain personal voice with it.

To show off that fact, "Gentleman" gets rolling with a loose improvisatory solo saxophone performance that Tony Allen eventually pats along with before the entire band drops in with classic Afro-beat magnificence. "Gentleman" is also a great example of Fela's directed wit at the post-colonial West African sociopolitical state of affairs. His focus is on the Africans that still had a colonial mentality after the Brits were gone and then parallels that life with his own. He wonders why his fellow Africans would wear so much clothing in the African heat: "I know what to wear but my friend don't know" and also points out that "I am not a gentleman like that!/I be Africa man original."

Fela, like I stated above is the man I go to when I start my world music quest. He is a man who's popularity is felt in so many ways. With his fascinating and controversial life he makes a great study. He had twelve wives and had sixty kids. One is a musician too. His son Femi is good, but is not as prolific as his father. Enjoy on what I tried to give you was a nice overview of his best work. There is a two CD retrospective that has a good overview and some really nice liner notes. I would go that route first and then to the albums. The albums, most of them have a gem that was not put on the greatest hits. Enjoy!