Fela Kuti
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Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria (1938 – 1997)
Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 Oct 1938 – 2 Aug 1997), or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of afrobeat music, human rights activist, political maverick & leader of Fela Ransome Kuti & Africa ‘70.
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, highlife, and traditional Yoruban 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.
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, highlife, and traditional Yoruban 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.
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Shoutbox
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uhtel wrote:
R.I.P.
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sugahbush wrote:
I wish I could write music like Fela
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chiloni wrote:
so wild, so powerful!
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arkansasjason66 wrote:
much love !
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LOVES-DESIRE wrote:
Fela Kuti .... This is Music my Soul knows ..... I do dances I've never seen and understand his words ..... It's like I already know the song ..... Fela .....
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liambrother wrote:
Other Dimension Music.
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ksjn wrote:
Kuti helps you get your mojo on..
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RealVisceral wrote:
No Possible (Joystick Jay Vulgar Distractions Edit) <3
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nlicky wrote:
I just found out about Fela in the musical about his life and music. Really interesting guy with a very strong amount of activism and funky music. Just that play got me moving to find out the real Fela from the renditions of his music and life actions.
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naturalmotorolo wrote:
yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
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Fabferr wrote:
impressive
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Disassociativo wrote:
The African Beat is here. [2]
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hydrogenz wrote:
Just discovered Fela Kuti, amazing cant stop listening
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barryvs wrote:
I don't smoke, but half of my Last.fm library must've smoked something......can't really knock it!
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bloodmaw wrote:
Smoking makes you look like a dragon... and dragons are cool.[2]
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wodkaflamingo wrote:
cool shit
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brun-o wrote:
today, october 15th, is fela scrobble day
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GrimAxeman wrote:
http://www.okayafrica.com/2011/09/22/rest-in-peace-troy-davis/
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saschamaj wrote:
Only 168,000 listeners on last.fm? And I thought this site had some serious music lovers... You need Fela in your life to heal your soul.
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FionnKirwan wrote:
ah nothing better to listen to while having my black coffee in the morning
Videos
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Play
Mr Follow Follow - Fela Kuti…
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Play
"VIVA NIGERIA" DJ STAN-LEY REMIX
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Play
FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI KALAKUTA…
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Play
EGBI MI O (CARY ME)
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Recent Activity
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alexroarsatlyon, AMECI, Bprezzz and 13 other people added Fela Kuti to their libraries. yesterday evening
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nachodorche tagged Fela Kuti with nigeria, jazz, african and 3 other tags. Tuesday morning
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sandersondf, ZeusVega, pim945 and 37 other people added Fela Kuti to their libraries. Monday evening
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asica1983 tagged Fela Kuti with afrobeat, git, world and 2 other tags. Friday morning
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millz2001, halaybasi, chriixxtopher and 24 other people added Fela Kuti to their libraries. Friday morning
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RyanRootts tagged Fela Kuti with ‘afrobeat’. last week
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jkdu54, freshboichillin, hattifnatterne and 1 other person added Fela Kuti to their libraries. last week
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world_beet_cafe created the wiki page for He Miss Road. last month
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d18m10y08 wrote about Fela Kuti – The Best of the Black President in a deleted journal. March 2011
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d18m10y08 wrote about Fela Kuti – The Underground Spiritual Game (Mixed by Chief Xcel) in a deleted journal. February 2011
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