Play Fela Kuti Radio
Fela Kuti
1,235,665 plays (113,348 listeners)
Nigeria (1938 – 1997)
Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.
HMV Magazine ranked him #46 on a list of the top-100 most influential musicians of the 20th century.
The musical style performed by Fela Kuti is called Afrobeat, which is essentially a fusion of jazz, funk, psychedelic rock, and traditional African chants and rhythms. It is characterized by having African-style percussion, vocals, and musical structure, along with jazzy, funky horn sections. The endless groove is also used, in which a base rhythm of drums, shekere, muted guitar, and bass guitar are repeated throughout the song. His band was notable for featuring two baritone saxophones, whereas most groups using this instrument only use one. This is a common technique in African and African-influenced musical styles, and can be seen in funk and hip-hop. Some elements often present in Fela’s music are the call-and-response within the chorus and figurative but simple lyrics. Fela’s songs were almost always over 10 minutes in length, some reaching the 20- or even 30-minute marks, while some unreleased tracks would last up to 45 minutes when performed live. This was one of many reasons that his music never reached a substantial degree of popularity outside of Africa. His songs were mostly sung in Nigerian pidgin, although he also performed a few songs in the Yoruba language.
HMV Magazine ranked him #46 on a list of the top-100 most influential musicians of the 20th century.
The musical style performed by Fela Kuti is called Afrobeat, which is essentially a fusion of jazz, funk, psychedelic rock, and traditional African chants and rhythms. It is characterized by having African-style percussion, vocals, and musical structure, along with jazzy, funky horn sections. The endless groove is also used, in which a base rhythm of drums, shekere, muted guitar, and bass guitar are repeated throughout the song. His band was notable for featuring two baritone saxophones, whereas most groups using this instrument only use one. This is a common technique in African and African-influenced musical styles, and can be seen in funk and hip-hop. Some elements often present in Fela’s music are the call-and-response within the chorus and figurative but simple lyrics. Fela’s songs were almost always over 10 minutes in length, some reaching the 20- or even 30-minute marks, while some unreleased tracks would last up to 45 minutes when performed live. This was one of many reasons that his music never reached a substantial degree of popularity outside of Africa. His songs were mostly sung in Nigerian pidgin, although he also performed a few songs in the Yoruba language.
Top Albums
-
Roforofo Fight
Fela KutiBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.99
- 7digital Search
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $49.99
- eBay Search
New
-
No Agreement
Fela KutiBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $7.99
- 7digital Search
- iTunes $7.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $0.37
- eBay Search
New
Top Tracks
| 1 |
 |
Zombie
full track
|
|||
| 2 |
|
Water No Get Enemy
full track
|
|||
| 3 |
|
Lady
full track
|
|||
| 4 |
|
Expensive Shit
full track
|
|||
| 5 |
|
Roforofo Fight
full track
|
|||
| 6 |
|
Gentleman
full track
|
|||
| 7 |
|
Shakara
full track
|
|||
| 8 |
|
He Miss Road
full track
|
|||
| 9 |
|
Mister Follow Follow
full track
|
|||
| 10 |
|
||||
| 11 |
|
Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am
full track
|
|||
| 12 |
|
Viva Nigeria
full track
|
|||
| 13 |
|
No Agreement
full track
|
|||
| 13 |
|
Fefe Naa Efe
full track
|
|||
| 15 |
|
Monday Morning In Lagos
full track
|
Shoutbox
-
MissClarck wrote:
Hi, Let's discover the band Bantunani with their Afrogroove http://www.lastfm.fr/music/Bantunani?ac=bantu For you, you may enjoy Bantugroove and blackninja
-
jetydo wrote:
Ridiculously good live Fela track: http://yearsagotoday.blogspot.com/2009/11/23-years-ago-today-fela-kuti-put-spell.html
-
neplusultra82 wrote:
LIBRAS represent!!! Proud to share a zodiac with the genius that is FELA.
-
larzipanmars wrote:
We have the same birthday!
-
Cannsaw wrote:
Roforofo Fight - my fave
-
corazonmani wrote:
The man....I miss him
-
Funkadelicer wrote:
Happy Birthday!!!
-
subhash wrote:
happy birthday fela, you're the real black president
-
Shwenk wrote:
FELA :)
-
MavonBarksfield wrote:
oh and i forgot Afrodisiac which is amazing as well
-
MavonBarksfield wrote:
@ presidentalien all of them are great but grab Gentleman, Zombie, Roforofo Fight, Shakara, Open and Close, Opposite People, Confusion and Expenisive Shit first.
-
calexicoca wrote:
Hail to the king! Presidentalien: You can pick any of his albums and you will not make mistake. They are all in the same grove with very long numbers and lively horn sections. I personally prefer everything he did live. There he really shines. And yeah google for pictures of his "Queens" to have a complete enjoyment.
-
Ooved wrote:
Zombie is essential.
-
presidentalien wrote:
Can anyone recommend a couple of good albums by this guy?
-
FarmerAnita wrote:
Music beyond melody
-
araujof wrote:
master
-
mongoritter wrote:
maaaannn, what for a giant blunt...im jealous.
-
StevePL wrote:
Really good music
-
perrata2000 wrote:
I have posted a great version of Kuti's Shakara from Colombian Lisandro MEza from back in 75 in my Blog. Stop by and check it. Real wild track. www.colmenadehumo.blogspot.com
-
vectorcannon wrote:
dem close dem EE-AH
Videos
See more
Featured Tracks
|
|
Zombie full track | 12:23 |
|
|
Expensive Shit full track | 13:11 |
|
|
Coffin For Head of State full track | 22:41 |
Events
-
Nov
23
FELA! On Broadway
Eugene O’Neill Theatre - 230 W 49th Street, New York, NY 10019, United States
Add shout
| 1 attendee
Listeners
-
MrSiki99
Top Listener
-
ONoffON
Top Listener
-
MMax_
Top Listener
-
BoothsBullet
Top Listener
-
Antedilluvian
Top Listener
-
mashibeats
Top Listener
Recent Activity
-
SBBSClub, mcbutton13, neinEmperor and 6 other people added Fela Kuti to their libraries. 18 minutes ago
-
Ton87 tagged Fela Kuti with ‘nigeria’. yesterday evening
-
salopexile, elf271, WYRWA6 and 4 other people added Fela Kuti to their libraries. yesterday evening
-
J-east tagged Fela Kuti with ‘afrobeat’. yesterday morning
-
jbanatre, vicenley, AM_Poet and 2 other people added Fela Kuti to their libraries. yesterday morning
-
SirAlecHendrix connected Fela Kuti to the group New World Music. Wednesday evening
-
k-troll, MrTavo, candy3000 and 22 other people added Fela Kuti to their libraries. Wednesday evening
-
IanAR connected Fela Kuti to the group World Music Network. Tuesday afternoon
-
BradUrani, shimmerglimpse, jovianbrown and 2 other people added Fela Kuti to their libraries. Tuesday afternoon
-
lookbackbore wrote about Fela Kuti in November acquisitions. Tuesday morning
Related Journals
-
Akron/Family @ l'Epicerie Moderne, Feyzin, France
by Popoyt |
13 Nov 2009 | Add comment
-
Playlist for Things that Are Square on KUCI 11/5/09
by Wormwood37 |
6 Nov 2009 | Add comment
-
November acquisitions
by lookbackbore |
4 Nov 2009 | Add comment
Groups (118)
-
Fela Kuti
209 members
-
Afrobeat
415 members
-
afrofuturists
29 members
-
World Music Network
367 members
-
Fuck Bush
11,763 members
More Information
- Links
- Labels
Email Newsletter
Get exclusive tour, release & promotion updates on Fela Kuti from Universal Music.
