Fela Kuti is more famous today than ever – what’s behind his global power: Almost three decades after his passing in 1997, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary Nigerian musician and activist who created the Afrobeat music movement, remains the subject of global obsession. The self-proclaimed “Black President” is everywhere, like an omnipresent deity. His presence is …
Simi and Bella Shmurda: two Afrobeats stars reveal a growing tendency to abuse Fela Kuti: Frans Schellekens/Redferns via Getty Images There can no longer be any doubt that Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary Nigerian musician, activist and father of Afrobeat music, has become an easy career booster for today’s Afrobeats artists who are undergoing creative droughts. …
2022 Grammys: what Fela Kuti has to do with West Africa’s growing pop fame: Made Kuti performs in Lagos in 2021. Photo by Andrew Esiebo/Getty Images for Global Citizen There are a record number of African nominees for the 2022 Grammy Awards and they are almost all from West Africa – Angelique Kidjo (Benin), Rocky …