Fela Anikulapo Kuti

Probably the Greatest Ever Afrobeats Personality The World Will Ever See!

A Quick Run Through The Life of Fela Anikulapo Kuti

Fela a first cousin to writer and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, was born on 15 October 1938 in Abeokuta, Ogun State,South-West Nigeria. His father was an Anglican minister and school principal
1958: Later he was sent to London in 1958 to study medicine but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music, the trumpet being his preferred instrument. While there, he formed the band Koola Lobitos, playing a fusion of jazz and highlife.
1960: Fela married his first wife, Remilekun (Remi) Taylor, with whom he would have three children (Femi, Yeni, and Sola)
1963: Fela moved back to the newly independent Federation of Nigeria, re-formed Koola Lobitos and trained as a radio producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation.
1967: He went to Ghana to think up a new musical direction. That was when Kuti first called his music Afrobeat.
1969: Fela took the band to the United States where they spent 10 months in Los Angeles. While there, Fela discovered the Black Power movement through Sandra Smith (now Sandra Izsadore), a partisan of the Black Panther Party. The experience would heavily influence his music and political views
1977: Fela released the album ‘Zombie’, a scathing attack on Nigerian soldiers using the zombie metaphor to describe the methods of the Nigerian military. The album was a smash hit and infuriated the military government, setting off a vicious attack against the Kalakuta Republic.
1979: He put himself forward for President in Nigeria's first elections for more than a decade, but his candidature was refused.
1989: Fela released the famous Beast of No Nation album
1997: 2nd day of August 1997, Fela died from complications related to AIDS.

Fela Kuti is remembered as an influential icon who was brave enough to boldly voice his opinions on matters that affected the nation through his music. An annual festival "Felabration" held each year to celebrate the life of this music legend and his birthday.

For a more comprehensive read on the life and times of the Afrobeat Legend, please check out his Wikipedia entry