{"id":25970,"date":"2022-11-15T15:32:02","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T14:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.auxsons.com\/?post_type=focus&p=25970"},"modified":"2022-11-17T16:40:33","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T15:40:33","slug":"what-fela-kuti-has-to-do-with-west-africas-growing-pop-fame","status":"publish","type":"focus","link":"https:\/\/www.auxsons.com\/en\/focus\/what-fela-kuti-has-to-do-with-west-africas-growing-pop-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"What Fela Kuti has to do with West Africa\u2019s growing pop fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article first appeared on The Conversation<\/a><\/strong> and Music In Africa<\/strong>,<\/a> #AuxSons has translated it into French, and published it within a media partnership agreement.<\/em><\/p>\n

Many thanks to United Souls<\/strong><\/a> for the incredible illustration !<\/em><\/p>\n

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There are a record number of African nominees for the 2022 Grammy Awards and they are almost all from West Africa \u2013 Angelique Kidjo (Benin), Rocky Dawuni (Ghana), Femi Kuti, Made Kuti, Wizkid, Burna Boy and Tems (Nigeria).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Most of these artists are also proponents of Afrobeat (Femi and Made Kuti, following the musical and political form defined by Fela Kuti) or new breed Afrobeats (Wizkid, Burna Boy and Tems). Ang\u00e9lique Kidjo<\/a><\/strong>, too, has admitted to being influenced by Fela.<\/p>\n

As with Afrobeat, Afrobeats is music characterised by harmonic and melodic grooves, call and response choruses and intricately layered syncopation (disrupted rhythms). But Afrobeats is more commercial, radio-friendly and often politically vacuous \u2013 easily digestible by mass audiences.<\/p>\n

There have been extensive conversations on the differences and similarities of Afrobeat and Afrobeats. But within this selection of Grammy nominees what is immediately obvious are the lines where the two genres come together.<\/p>\n

It is interesting to observe the dissemination of Fela\u2019s legacy in the form of the varied work of his numerous musical children many of whom pay direct homage to him by copious sampling and outright imitation.<\/p>\n

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The Kuti dynasty<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fela\u2019s dominance of the music scene spanned the 1970s and 1980s. After he was incarcerated by the Nigerian military authorities in 1984, his son Femi steadily began to come into his own musically. Femi is still decidedly more old school Afrobeat than new school Afrobeats. He served a long musical tutelage under Fela, and struggled to carve his own artistic niche but would always be seen primarily as an Afrobeat musician.<\/p>\n

Femi, visually and politically speaking, is a much more safer bet than his father. He has avoided needless controversy and partnered with a wide variety of globally accomplished US<\/span> musicians such as pianist Randy Weston, rapper Mos Def and singer Macy Gray amongst other noted collaborations. Femi has received six Grammy nominations.<\/p>\n

Fela had never fitted the Grammy mould due to his uncommercially lengthy compositions, controversial nature and outright rebelliousness. But none doubted his musical genius. In many ways, he is irrevocably fastened to the classical Afrobeat template in terms of lyrical acuity, political awareness, aesthetic definition and spiritual curiosity.<\/p>\n

M\u00e1d\u00e9 Kuti - Free Your Mind<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n