FELA KUTI

His Life and Music

Birth and family

Born as Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti on 15th october 1938 in Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Mother was Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement

Father was Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, a Protestant minister and school principal.

NIGERIA STATISTICS:•Most populous country in Africa

•English is the national Language

•Has over 500 languages Spoken in the country.

•It has been ruled by the Military for the past 47 years Since independence from the British on October 1st 1960.

In 1958, Fela went to London to study Medicine buthe ended up doing music at Trinity College.

While at Trinity he formed the Koola Lobitos Band.

Timeline

Significant Years in Fela’s life

1963- Fela moves back to Nigeria and reforms the Koola Lobitos.

1967- Went to Ghana to think up a new direction for his music. He called it Afrobeat

1969- Travels with his band to the US and meets Sandra Smith who introduced him to the black panther movement and the black power Movement. Band name changes to “Nigeria ’70”

1970- Moves back to Nigeria and names his band “The Africa 70”. His music changed from love to social issues. - He set up the Kalakuta Republic and the Afrika Shrine which served as a commune for the band and people associated with them.

Date: 1977Action: Fela and Afrika ‘70 release the album Zombie.Effect: People all over Nigeria sing the song and the government is infuriatedEnd result: Kalakuta republic is attacked by a thousand soldiers and burnt down

: Fela is beaten severely : Funmilayo is thrown out the

window and is in a comma for 8 weeks until her death.

: A more resilient Fela Kuti.

Fela wrote delivered his mother’s coffin to Olusegun Obasanjo’s residence and wrote 2 songs

Unknown soldierCoffin for head of State

AFROBEAT

FELA’S MUSIC

Characteristics

Afrobeat has a touch of

Traditional African Style drumming

Funk

Highlife

Highlife is a musical genre that originated from Ghana in

the 20th century and spread to Nigeria and Sierra Leone

among other West African countries by 1920.It is

characterized by jazzy horns, and multiple guitars, which

lead the band

Instrumentation

B

ase rhythm of drums and shekere

2

or more electric guitars

5

horns (tenor, alto, 2 baritones , trumpet)

B

ass guitar

O

rgan/ electric piano

Elements of afrobeat

C

all and response

L

ong preludes before the vocals set in

S

olos

R

epetition

I

nterlocking rhythms between the bass and the guitars as well as the drums.

Fela’s Contributions

H

e created and made popular the Afrobeat which is a great

part of African music now.

H

e encouraged young Pan Africanists to strive to have better

functioning governments

H

e encouraged use of music to create change in society.

FELABRATION

Every year in October, people all around the world travel to Nigeria to celebrate the life of Fela Kuti and his contribution to society.

Other events are also held in different parts of the world to celebrate him.

THE LAST DAYS OF FELA

He was diagnosed with AIDS and he died from complications that were caused by the virus on August 2 1997 in Nigeria.

He believed in the power of music and he once said: "With my music, I create change...I am using my music as a weapon."

BibliographyWikipedia.com. Wikipedia. 26 February 2013. 10 March 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlife>. Wkipedia.com. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fela_Kuti. 4 March 2013. 10 March 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fela_Kuti>. G.B. The Economist. 9 October 2012. 10 March 2013 <http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2012/11/nigerian-music>. Janet Planet africamusic.org. the African Music Encyclopedia. 1 january 2005 . 10 March 2013 <http://africanmusic.org/artists/felakuti.html>. Romer, Megan. About.com. 1 Jannuary 2013. 10 March 2013 <http://worldmusic.about.com/od/bandsartistsaz/p/FelaKuti.htm>.