By Edentu Oroso (Wednesday Columnist)
If you ever craved music that erupts like a tempest—staccato beats, relentless percussion, throbbing basslines, and lyrics that punch straight at the heart of oppression—then Afrobeat is your soundtrack. And if you ever pictured a voice, raw and defiant, weaving stories of the downtrodden into melodies both fierce and beautiful, one name blazes like a comet: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. The architect of Afrobeat, he was a relentless town crier, exposing the rot in the land with every note, every lyric—a one-man revolution against the machinery of injustice.
Fast forward to 2024. Fela no longer commands the stage with his mystique and awe-inspiring presence, but his spirit roars on, his legacy shape shifting through time. Enter Femi Kuti, the humble yet magnetic heir to the Afrobeat throne. A legend in his own right, Femi doesn’t merely rekindle the flames his father lit—he fans them into new infernos. Armed with his saxophone and a piercing resolve, he carves a path through global stages, his music a sword and shield for the oppressed.
Femi isn’t just a musician; he’s a modern-day prophet, his Afrobeat a rallying cry against apathy. Each performance is a summons, urging humanity to wake up to the anguished cries of the silenced majority. Where his father waged war with thunderous anthems, Femi crafts his rebellion with finesse, commanding the world’s attention as he tears at the veils of indifference.
Femi Kuti’s journey of life is one forged in fire and music. Growing up as the son of the legendary and indomitable Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was no ordinary experience. For Femi Kuti, it was a kaleidoscope of emotions—thrilling, tough, enlightening, and often overwhelming. From an early age, the seeds of his musical journey were sown with little fanfare but immense promise. At just eight years old, he was handed a trumpet, and without a teacher to guide him, he began to explore its depths. By the age of thirteen or fourteen, he had embraced the saxophone, the instrument that would become synonymous with his voice. By sixteen, Femi was already immersed in the pulsating rhythms of his father’s band, joining the iconic ensemble in 1979.
In the early days of his career, Femi’s path seemed gilded. The son of Fela Kuti was met with admiration, adoration, and applause. Fans and critics alike heralded his talent: “Oh, you’re fantastic!” they exclaimed. But the gloss wore thin when reality set in. During his father’s imprisonment by the Buhari-Idiagbon regime in 1984, Femi moved to his mother’s house, and the harsh truth began to surface. Talent alone, he realised, was not enough.
It was his maternal grandmother who delivered the wake-up call. “What kind of musician are you?” she asked bluntly. “I never hear you practice.” Those words jolted him from complacency. The adulation he had basked in, he realised, was often hollow. Determined to live up to his lineage and personal aspirations, Femi began to put in the relentless work that transformed him into a world-class musician.
When Fela passed away, the void he left was immense—both within the family and the global music scene. Yet, the Kuti family rallied. Yeni Kuti, Femi’s younger sister, became a glue that held them together, ensuring Fela’s legacy endured. Femi himself was already carving out his path. His song Wonder Wonder (1995) had cemented his name in the world of music, and shortly after Fela’s demise, he delivered one of his biggest hits, Beng Beng Beng, from the album Shoki Shoki (1998). “It was tough,” Femi admits. “We missed him dearly. But I was already on the road with the Positive Force Band, traveling for months at a time.”
Today, with eleven albums to his name and a twelfth on the way, Femi Kuti has more than paid his dues. For him, each album is like birthing a child—nurtured, promoted, and forever a testament to a chapter in his life. “Every album represents an important time,” he reflects. “They’re significant because they capture the essence of where I was in my journey.”
Having graced countless international stages, Femi’s career is a tapestry woven with unforgettable moments. Yet, he remains deeply connected to his roots and the lessons of his early struggles. “The journey hasn’t been smooth,” he says, “but I appreciate every moment.”
Now 62, Femi cherishes his time on stage and the opportunities his music has afforded him. However, with age and experience comes introspection. “Stardom complicates life,” he admits. “You start questioning who truly loves you, who’s there for the fame or money. If I could rewrite my story, I’d be more cautious with people around me. But my father taught me not to regret. Life is an experience, and the goal is to overcome and grow.”
Femi’s latest single, Politics Don Expose Them, is a scathing critique of the political elite. Inspired by his earlier track Sorry Sorry (1998), which warned that politicians and soldiers were two sides of the same coin, the song pulls the usual punches atypical of the Femi Kuti or the Fela clan. “People criticized me back then,” Femi recalls. “They said the military era was over. But look at where we are now—corruption, poverty, bad governance. Politics has exposed their true character.”
This places Femi Kuti in a league of his own, solidifying his status as a prophetic voice in contemporary music. His 1998 song Sorry Sorry resonates with striking clarity in 2024, its foresight eerily aligned with the nation’s current realities. The widespread suffering and socio-economic challenges serve as a poignant vindication of Femi’s ability to craft lyrics with enduring and unsettling relevance.
While many entertainers are preoccupied with the legacies they’ll leave behind, Femi’s philosophy is simpler. “Legacy isn’t my goal,” he says. “My objective is to write meaningful music, practice hard, and be there for my family. When you’re dead, you have no control. So while I’m alive, I want to give my children all the love I can and ensure I have no regrets about what I’ve done with my life and my music.”
A restless creative, a devoted father, and an unyielding voice for the oppressed, Femi Kuti embodies resilience and purpose, anchored in the music that not only defined his lineage but reshaped the soul of a generation.
True legacies are not measured by sprawling mansions or hidden wealth amassed in distant vaults; they are forged in the courage to be a voice of reckoning amid the trials of humanity. In this regard, Femi Kuti stands as a towering pillar of conscience—a vital seasoning in the often bland broth of our collective awareness.
