The charismatic multi-instrumentalist is the son of Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who welcomed him into the world on October 15, 1938, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Kuti was named Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti at birth by his parents. His father who was a school teacher and an Anglican minister while his mother was an anti-colonial activist.
Born into a wealthy family, the musician had a comfortable childhood as well as access to the best education at the time. He had his secondary school education at Abeokuta Grammar School. Upon his graduation, Fela’s parents sent him to Britain to pursue a career in Medicine.
On getting to Britain in 1958, the music legend changed his mind and switched to music. He was tutored at the renowned Trinity College of Music, where he particularly developed a strong interest in the trumpet.
It was while Fela was still studying in London that he launched his first band called Koola Lobitos.
The musical group, at the time, used to play a blend of highlife and jazz with native African drums.
The Afrobeat icon was not the only child of his parents, as he has two brothers whose names are Olikoye Ransome-Kuti and Beko Ransome-Kuti who are both respected medical doctors in Nigeria.
After a successful musical education in London, Fela Kuti decided to return to Nigeria.
He eventually did in 1963 and later met Sandra Izsadore (also known as Sandra Smith) during a tour of the United States in 1969.
Fela’s meeting with the Black Panther Party member had a significant influence on him and eventually gave rise to his decision to switch from his.... gleeful music pattern to a volcanic and political rebellious-patterned Afrobeat genre.
His first move upon his arrival to Nigeria was to change the name of his band to The Afrika’70. He later adopted the name “Anikulapo” as a replacement to his surname “Ransome”
And as time passed, his songs began to reflect more social issues than love lyrics. At that moment, the Afrobeat icon Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was born.
Fela Kuti’s band was famed for its call-and-response within the chorus pattern and for performing with two or more guitarists...
two baritone saxophones and at times, two bassists.
Besides the simplicity of the musician’s songs, they are also known to be very long (each song lasts between 10–15 minutes).
Kuti’s songs were mostly sung in Nigerian pidgin English, though a few of them are performed...
in the Yoruba language as well.
Talking about his instruments, the music star usually performs with the keyboards, trumpet, saxophone, electric guitar, and drum solo.
Kuti, until the time of his death, recorded over 20 albums which include Open & Close (1971)...
Fela Fela Fela (1969), Afrodisiac (1973), Expensive Shit (1975), Fela’s London Scene (1971), No Agreement(1977), Beasts of No Nation (1989), Why Black Man Dey Suffer (1971), Confusion (1975), Black President(1981), The Best Best of Fela Kuti (1999) Original Sufferhead (1981).
Fela Kuti was a firm believer in polygamy and in accordance with his beliefs, he ended up marrying several women at the same time in the year 1978.
His first wife is called Remilekun (Remi) Taylor. He got married to her in 1960 and their union was blessed with three children.
Femi Kuti, Sola Kuti (who died in 1997), and Yeni Kuti. Fela’s other children who came from his several relationships with other women are Kunle Anikulapo Kuti, Omosalewa Anikulapo Kuti (a Nigerian-based Lawyer), Motunrayo Anikulapo Kuti (a dancer), and Seun Kuti (a musician).
Besides music, Fela Kuti will forever be remembered as one Nigerian musical icon who boldly expressed his opinions on continental and international matters without fear or favor.
During his lifetime, Kuti was of the opinion that colonialism is the root of the political and....
socio-economic and problems that plagued the African people. He was also a candid supporter of socialism and Pan-Africanism and was at the forefront for a democratic and united African republic.
Beyond Africa, he was an assertive critic of the United States of America as well.
He once condemned the psychological attack that American organizations like the CIA and ITT launched against developing nations with regards to language.
The Abeokuta-born icon also spoke strongly against terms like undeveloped, Nonaligned countries, and Third World which he said implied inferiority.
According to records, Femi’s constant attack against corruption and the state of affairs in Nigeria and Africa led to his arrest on over 200 different occasions, with the longest being his 20 months jail term after his arrest in 1984.
The human rights activist died on 3 August 1997, in Lagos, at the age of 58, from complications related to AIDS. His passing was announced by his brother, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, who was a prominent AIDS activist.
Kuti’s remains was encased in a five-sided glass coffin and staged for full public viewing, after which he was laid to rest at the site of the old Shrine compound. His funeral was attended by over one million people.
Other Facts You Need To Know about the Musician
1. Fela Kuti’s father was a former member of the Nigeria Union of Teachers. In fact, he was the first president of the association.
2. According to records, the musician is Wole Soyinka’s first cousin. Wole is a renowned Nigerian writer, the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
3. Kuti also banded together with Nigerian highlife icon/trumpeter Victor Olaiya and his All Stars band before fame.
4. Prior to his death, Kuti attempted to make a movie but his effort was thwarted after his house was engulfed by a fire. According to reports, the fire was set by the military government in power at the time.
5. During his lifetime, the Afrobeat pioneer was supported by some famous African leaders including Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana..
6. Kuti was a staunch supporter of human rights and a campaigner against dictatorships, especially during the military era in Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s.
7. Every year, a festival called “Felabration” is organized to celebrate Fela Kuti’s life and birthday.
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