Fela Kuti

[Radical Activist]

In other Fela Kuti fans in the lounge? Any fans that are white? Just curious. He's one of my favorites.
http://africanmusic.org/artists/felakuti.html

[crispini]

1. I like Fela!

I also like Salif Keita, Thomas Mapfumo, Toure Kunda... lots of great sounds out of Africa. I really like the kora; what a cool instrument!

[Metta]

2. Fela, Salif Kaita, Orchestra Boabab, Franco, Rochereau, Joski.

Les Tets Brulees, Samite, Cheb Khaled, Netsanet Mellessa, the list goes on.

[Mikimouse]

3. How about Sweet Honey in the Rock?...n/t

[Shine]

4. I love Fela and all African music!! Feeds the soul...

I got to see Fela perform live, here in Santa Cruz, before he died. Great show. He's amazing. :thumbsup:

I also love Thomas Mapfumo, Salif Kieta, Alpha Blondy, Ali Farke Toure, Youssou N'Dour, Kanda Bongo Man...

:loveya:

[Radical Activist]

6. I'm jealous

How cool that you got to see him in concert. I hope to see Femi Kuti sometime when he tours here again.

[SouthoftheBorderPaul]

10. Thank you for clearing up that you saw him play BEFORE he died...

:D

[Shine]

13. LOL!! Yeah, I guess that was kind of silly. heheh.

:rofl:

[Kali]

5. yo

love ALL kinds of music, yes I'm anglo
check out this on a thursday night sometime:

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kxci/ppr/index.shtml

great world music from 6 to 9 mountain time (this week they are begging for money - should be over by next week)

[progmom]

7. HUGE fan here

saw his son Femi last year - also great.

[Radical Activist]

8. Figures. I just knew that YOU of all people would be a fan!

;)

[progmom]

9. now that's a huge compliment!

:hi:

[kwassa]

11. wow, all these other Afropop fans ....

My "kwassa" name is based on the kwassa-kwassa, the famous soukous dance, also a slang pun for "quoi-ca?" or "what's that?" in French.

I like Fela's "Zombie" song. Manu Dibango is another Afrojazz player I really like.

I've been a fan of soukous since the late '80s, Papa Wembe, Pepe Kalle, Kanda Bongo Man, Les Quatres Etoiles, and any band Diblo Dibala has ever played in.

Thomas Mapfumo.

I also like South African township jive, Mbaqanga, with Malathini and the Mahotella Queens.

Franco and TPOK Jazz. Sam Magwana. Mbilia Bell, Tshala Muana.

great, great music.

XM Radio infuriated me by canning the African music channel. It is only available on the Web.

[Shine]

14. I LOVE soukous music!! It's so uplifting and energetic.

I'd noticed your username and made the connection, earlier. Just hadn't said hi, yet. :)

:hi:

[kwassa]

17. I often play soukous while driving to work

It is great way to start the day off right.

Nice to meet another fan!

[Radical Activist]

15. Zombie is my favorite

I'll have to check out some others that you mentioned.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

12. I'm both white and a Fela Kuti fan

I discovered his stuff this summer.

A local funk band that I really like did a tribute to him for an entire (3 hour) show. I was pretty blown away and got some of his stuff the next day. Pretty amazing...

[tigereye]

16. yes

I love all types of African music. And yes, I am a Caucasian.

[Swamp Rat]

18. Yeah you rite!

:thumbsup:

I've seen Fema Kuti in concert, also featuring Fela's very young grandson. :)

[Tredge]

19. Anglo fan here as well

I worked with a Nigerian who, once he heard I knew who Fela was, gave me a thorough education. He brought in a couple highlife albums ("My Lady Frustration" is my favorite of those). According to him, "highlife" was written for the fishermen who would come in after days at sea and go to a place and party and drink themselves into a coma.

He couldn't find his favorite Fela songs in the states. He said his favorite song while he was a teenager in Lagos was "Shenshema" but he hadn't heard it since he'd left, 25 years before this. So I went on Napster and burned it and gave it to him. The look of ecstasy on his face when he heard the song begin was something I hope to never forget. He started to wax poetic about hot nights in Lagos when "Shenshema" played on the radio and he would climb over fences to meet all his girlfriends around the town.

One story I liked was the one he told about how Fela took up the saxophone. Since Fela was a trumpet player first, another member of his group played sax, but then he died. When that happened Fela put the trumpet away, and out of some fit of reverence for the dead he picked up a saxophone and started blowing into it. The first results were less than musical, but he would walk around his compound stripped to the waist in his customary frenzy, blowing and squeaking on the thing. People would stop him and ask what the hell he was doing, but he'd just holler something wild like, "I'm not a trumpet player, I'm a saxophone player!!!" Of course it wasn't long before he was as proficient with the sax as he was with the trumpet.

Around work we'd use Fela song titles for wisdom. "Remember my friend: 'Water No Get Enemy.'"

Edit: Oh and a friend of a friend just named his newborn son 'Fela.' I asked if his middle name was 'Anikulapo' and he said, "I'm not about to name my son 'he who carries death in his pouch.'"