Summary
Fela Kuti, an Nigeria native, lived a great life. He invented his own socialist party, and then created his own genre. Fela Kuti’s life and times make the average rock star’s antics look pretty tame. He was persecuted, hounded and beaten by the Nigerian authorities for over thirty years. A genuine hero of the people, he attacked the corrupt regimes that dogged the country despite increasingly brutal attempts to keep him quiet. He invented a form of music of his own. He married over 20 women in one go (he divorced them all in one go in 1986). He was always controversial, arrogant, outspoken and innovative.
His long, long groove laden tracks (nothing here clocks in under 10 minutes). Effortless, serious funk with fantastic crazy-good brass sections. Languid, confident, aggressive, jazzy solos. Powerful singing and proclaiming in both English and Nigerian.
Today people of Nigeria and the US listens to his 30 min. songs. People are starting to even leave his songs on replay, and they don’t get tired of it. It’s just inspirational.