FELABRATION

created to celebrate one of Africa's most prolific musical icons, Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

Known around the globe as the inventor of Afrobeat (a mix of African-American Funk and Jazz with traditional Yoruba and Highlife music) and for his political charged lyrics, Fela's legacy still looms larger than life even 11 years after his death. His counter-culture lifestyle and defiant stance against corruption and oppression in Africa has earned him a cherished spot in the hearts of millions. Born in Abeokuta, Nigeria in 1938, the self proclaimed Black President and chief priest would have turned 70 in October of this year.

To honour him, the Nigerian-German musician Adé Bantu has assembled musicians, DJ's and dancers who have been shaped by Fela's music and politics.

Fela was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria[2] to a middle-class family. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was a feminist active in the anti-colonial movement and his father, Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, a Protestant minister and school Principal, was the first president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers. His medical doctor brothers, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti and Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, were both well known in Nigeria.

Fela was sent to London in 1958 to study medicine but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music. While there, he formed the band Koola Lobitos, playing a style of music that he would later call Afrobeat. The style was a fusion of American Jazz and Funk with West African Highlife. In 1961, Fela married his first wife, Remilekun (Remi) Taylor, with whom he would have three children (Femi, Yeni and Sola). In 1963, Fela moved back to Nigeria, re-formed Koola Lobitos and trained as a radio producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. In 1969, Fela took the band to the United States.

While there, Fela discovered the black power movement through Sandra Smith (now Isidore) -- a partisan of the Black Panther Party--which would heavily influence his music and political views and renamed the band "Nigeria 70". Soon, the Immigration and Naturalization Service were tipped off by a promoter that Fela and his band were in the US without work permits. The band then performed a quick recording session in Los Angeles, which would later be released as "The '69 Los Angeles Sessions".

Fela and his band, renamed "Africa '70" returned to Nigeria. He then formed the Kalakuta Republic, a commune, a recording studio and a home for many connected to the band which he later declared independent from the Nigerian state. Fela set up a nightclub in the Empire Hotel, named the Afro-Spot and then the Afrika Shrine, where he performed regularly. Fela also changed his middle name to "Anikulapo" (meaning "he who carries death in his pouch")[3], stating that his original middle name of Ransome was a slave name.