Femi Kuti

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Femi Kuti

Femi Anikulapo Kuti (* 1962 in London ; full name Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti ) is a Nigerian musician.

biography

Femi Kuti is the eldest son of the "King of Afrobeat " Fela Kuti . It comes from Fela's connection with the Nigerian-British Remi Taylor, whom he married while studying music in London. Kuti grew up in Nigeria . The chaos in the country shaken by political unrest, bloody conflicts and everyday corruption and the charismatic influence of his father shaped Femi Kuti's development. In 1984 he began to sing and play the saxophone to follow his father's example when he was imprisoned for 18 months because of an alleged foreign exchange affair. At the request of his father, he took over the musical direction of the club "African Shrine", which was located in the Ikeja district of Lagos . After differences with his family, he founded his own band "The Positive Force" in 1985, with which he has performed in Europe since 1988.

Femi Kuti published her first independent work in the album No Cause for Alarm , which was presented to the public at the end of April 1989 in the glamorous Eko Meridian Hotel in the best district of Lagos in the presence of his father. Unlike his father, he has a detached attitude towards drugs and avoids sexist statements that his father was known for. He brought up his contempt for drugs in the song Search Yourself! clearly expressed.

Fela Kuti died of AIDS in 1997 , and Femi Kuti has continued his father's musical legacy ever since. Kuti processed the death of his father and his younger sister Sola (she died in October 1997) in the song '97 on the album Fight to Win . Kuti uses his music to draw attention to the diverse grievances of the multi-ethnic state of Nigeria and to mobilize his compatriots. To support his political resistance, he opened the “New African Shrine” club in Lagos in October 2000, the successor to his father's legendary club.

The style of music practiced by Femi Kuti is called Afrobeat and is characterized by numerous wind instruments and unmistakable African sounds, but is also heavily influenced by American jazz . The music texts militantly denounce the hopeless living conditions in Africa and articulate numerous existential problems, such as the hopeless fight against AIDS or the ruthless exploitation of resources by multinational oil companies. Like his father, he uses the widespread pidgin English in his texts in order to reach as many people as possible in multi-ethnic Nigeria.

Femi Kuti has been living separately from his wife Funke, with whom he has a son (* September 1995), since 2002. In 2006 and 2007 he again became the father of three children.

Femi Kuti's younger brother Seun Kuti is also active as an Afrobeat musician.

Awards

Discography

  • 1989: No Cause for Alarm
  • 1995: Femi Kuti
  • 1996: Femi Kuti & the Positive Force
  • 1998: Shoki Shoki
  • 1999: Shoki Remixed
  • 2001: Fight to Win (nominated for a Grammy in the World Music category )
  • 2002: What will tomorrow bring (Remix, Single)
  • 2004: Best of Femi Kuti
  • 2004: Live at the Shrine
  • 2007: The Definitive Collection (Best-of-Album)
  • 2008: Day By Day
  • 2010: Africa for Africa
  • 2013: No Place for My Dream
  • 2018: One People One World

literature

  • Rolf Brockmann, Gerd Hötter: Scene Lagos. Travel to an African cultural metropolis. Trickster, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-923804-75-X , pp. 49-69.

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ World / Africa: Fassie and Kuti take the prize. (English), accessed April 9, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Kuti, Femi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kuti, Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nigerian musician
DATE OF BIRTH 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH London