(b Abeokuta, Nigeria 15 Oct 1938; d Lagos, 2 Aug 1997). Nigerian pop musician. He formed his first band, Koola Lobitos, in London while a student at Trinity College of Music (1958–63) where he studied the trumpet, music theory and composition. After returning to Nigeria (1963) he reorganized the band as Nigeria '70; the name was changed after a trip to the USA (1969) to Afrika '70, and finally to Egypt '80. From 1964 to 1979 the band was led by the drummer Tony Oladipo Allen. Formative musical influences on Fela Kuti include his indigenous Yoruba musical culture, classical training, exposure to jazz during his weekly radio programmes at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, black American music (James Brown, John Coltrane, Miles Davis), literary works (The Autobiography of Malcom X) and political activists encountered during his trips to the USA. He proclaimed himself a disciple of the late pan-Africanist and president of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Son of a minister and a union leader, he wrote lyrics characterized by scathing, politically charged and carefully coded rhetorics, shown in such titles as Confusion (EMI, 1975), Coffin for Head of State (Kalakuta, 1981) and Beasts of No Nation (Kalakuta; Eurobound/Yaba, 1989). His frequent attacks on Nigerian political leaders ended in arrest in November 1984; while in prison his band was led by his son Femi. He was released in 1986 and made his last international appearance on tour in the USA (June 1990). He died of AIDS-related causes.
Fela Kuti is credited with the origins of the substyle Afrobeat, a fusion of various other styles including Highlife, bebop, rock, soul and funk. He played the keyboard and the saxophone and his preferred instrumentation included electric keyboards, percussion (indigenous and Western) and electric guitars. His lead vocals were usually backed by a female chorus of his harem of some 27 wives. Most of his recordings also feature extended solos, and sung portions often employ call-and-response formats. He made over 50 albums and many works remain unpublished.
C. Moore: Fela Fela, cette putain de vie (Paris, 1982; Eng. trans., 1982)
J. Kilby: ‘Master of Afrobeat’, West Africa (28 Jan 1985)
‘Rocking all the Way to Jail’, Newsweek (15 July 1985)
R.F. Grass: ‘Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: the Art of an Afrobeat Rebel’, Drama Review, cxii/30 (1986), 131–48
M.K. Idowu: Fela: Why Blackman Carry Shit (Kaduna, 1986)
DANIEL AVORGBEDOR