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Fela Kuti
1,238,105 plays (113,543 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
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Roforofo Fight
Fela KutiBuy- Download Album
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- Amazon $49.98
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No Agreement
Fela KutiBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $6.99
- 7digital Search
- iTunes $7.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $0.37
- eBay Search
New
Top Tracks
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Zombie
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Water No Get Enemy
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Lady
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Expensive Shit
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Roforofo Fight
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Gentleman
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Shakara
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He Miss Road
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Mister Follow Follow
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Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am
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Viva Nigeria
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No Agreement
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Fefe Naa Efe
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Monday Morning In Lagos
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Shoutbox
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lvolat wrote:
RASPECTS
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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
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jetydo wrote:
Ridiculously good live Fela track: http://yearsagotoday.blogspot.com/2009/11/23-years-ago-today-fela-kuti-put-spell.html
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neplusultra82 wrote:
LIBRAS represent!!! Proud to share a zodiac with the genius that is FELA.
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larzipanmars wrote:
We have the same birthday!
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Cannsaw wrote:
Roforofo Fight - my fave
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corazonmani wrote:
The man....I miss him
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Funkadelicer wrote:
Happy Birthday!!!
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subhash wrote:
happy birthday fela, you're the real black president
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Shwenk wrote:
FELA :)
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MavonBarksfield wrote:
oh and i forgot Afrodisiac which is amazing as well
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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.
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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.
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Ooved wrote:
Zombie is essential.
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presidentalien wrote:
Can anyone recommend a couple of good albums by this guy?
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FarmerAnita wrote:
Music beyond melody
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araujof wrote:
master
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mongoritter wrote:
maaaannn, what for a giant blunt...im jealous.
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StevePL wrote:
Really good music
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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
Videos
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Featured Tracks
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Zombie full track | 12:23 |
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Expensive Shit full track | 13:11 |
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Coffin For Head of State full track | 22:41 |
Events
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Nov
23
FELA! On Broadway
Eugene O’Neill Theatre - 230 W 49th Street, New York, NY 10019, United States
Add shout
| 1 attendee
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Recent Activity
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AfixTwn added Fela Kuti to AfixTwn’s library. 2 hours ago
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samicakes18 tagged Fela Kuti with african, funk, world and 2 other tags. 2 hours ago
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samicakes18 added Fela Kuti to samicakes18’s library. 2 hours ago
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carot87 tagged Fela Kuti with funk, jazz, african and one other tag. 4 hours ago
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carot87, charlypalermo, danielaxy and 13 other people added Fela Kuti to their libraries. 4 hours ago
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seale31 tagged Fela Kuti with ‘afrobeat’. yesterday morning
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seale31, bashowright, KidEager and 18 other people added Fela Kuti to their libraries. yesterday morning
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Ton87 tagged Fela Kuti with ‘nigeria’. Thursday evening
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salopexile, elf271, WYRWA6 and 4 other people added Fela Kuti to their libraries. Thursday evening
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J-east tagged Fela Kuti with ‘afrobeat’. Thursday morning
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