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Femi, the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, and a grandchild of women’s rights activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, turned 60 on Saturday.
Unarguably, Femi is not just a multi-instrumentalist, he is also a singer and songwriter. His earliest introduction to songwriting was by his father, Fela.
Just like his father, Femi knows when to slow down the pace of the song and when to quicken it. He knows when to change the tune, when to dance, when to sit, when to dramatise, when to relax and when to be serious.
For Femi, bearing his father’s legacy with respect has been a worthwhile journey. Like his father, Femi has remained committed to social justice, human rights and music has remained a critical component of his activism and a channel through which he tells the stories of Nigerian people.
Femi took charge of the Afrika Shrine after his father’s death in 1997. He renovated the shrine and rechristened it the New Afrika Shrine.
Ever since, his irresistible music – and his often scathing lyrics, sung in Nigerian pidgin and Yoruba – has endeared him to many.
He took up the saxophone at age 16 and within a couple of years was playing in Fela’s band, which featured an entourage of well over 20 musicians and dancers. During a Nigerian army raid on Fela’s home, Kuti’s mother died after falling from a window—a tragedy he has laid at the feet of Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo.
Femi rose to the position of assistant band leader before he decided to set out on his own. In 1986, he started his band, Positive Force, and began establishing himself as an artiste, independent of his father’s massive structure and legacy.
His international career began in 1988 when the French Cultural Centre in Lagos and Christian Mousset invited him to perform at the Festival d’Angoulême (France). He also performed at the New Morning Club in Paris and the Moers Festival in Germany. He went on to tour Europe and then entered America. All the while, back home in Nigeria, many remained sceptical about his music and critical of his style.
He released his debut album, ‘No Cause For Alarm’, in 1989 and came out of his father’s shadow. He followed with ‘Mind Your Own Business (M.Y.O.B.)’ in 1991. In 1994, Motown, home to Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and more, signed Femi Kuti. He released a self-named album ‘Femi Kuti’ in 1995, which featured the global hit ‘Wonder Wonder.’
A highly successful tour of the United States followed. Femi Kuti enjoyed mass success by releasing more albums. ‘Fight To Win’ (2001) included several U.S. musicians, including Common, Mos Def, and Jaguar Wright. He has nominations for several awards, including World Best Live Act and World’s Best Entertainer at the World Music Awards. In 2000, he won World’s Best Selling African Artiste at the World Music Award.