Nigeria’s Afrobeat king Fela Kuti would this weekend be posthumously recognized by the Grammys with a Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first African artist to receive the distinction.
After a lifetime of clashes with successive powers in Nigeria, the recognition comes nearly three decades after Fela’s death and long after his influence reshaped global music.
Cher, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon and Chaka Khan were also to receive the award.
Photo: Reuters
In the 1970s, Fela the multi-instrumentalist and full-of-life performer invented Afrobeat: a mixture of jazz, funk and African rhythms. That laid the groundwork for Afrobeats — a later genre that has attracted a global audience by blending traditional African rhythms with contemporary pop sounds, with its roots in Nigeria.
Two years ago, the Grammys introduced the Best African Performance category, which has been dominated by Afrobeats artists.
Of the five nominees for the Best African Performance this year, three are Nigerian Afrobeats singers, after another Nigerian, Tems, won last year.
“Fela’s influence spans generations, inspiring artists such as Beyonce, Paul McCartney and Thom Yorke, and shaping modern Nigerian Afrobeats,” a citation on the Grammys’ list of this year’s honorees said.
Known also as the “Black President,” the activist and legendary musician died in 1997 at the age of 58.
His legacy lives on through his sons, Femi Kuti and Seun Kuti, and grandson Made.
“This acknowledgment coming at this time when all three of us are present. It feels wonderful,” Grammy-nominated Made Kuti said. “It feels wonderful that all of us are still practicing Afrobeat, still taking the legacy as far as we can take it.”
Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, Fela’s first cousin said the award was “a celebration for the African people,” and added that they wanted “to send a message to those who are giving these acknowledgements, please ... not wait till people are dead.”
As to what would have been Fela’s reaction, Ransome-Kuti said: “I’m sure he would have said ‘better late than never,’” although “in his lifetime he was not particularly interested in being recognized in the external world, particularly the western world.”
Fela was arrested frequently by military governments during his career, sometimes for political activism and sometimes also on allegations of theft, which he denied.
His first brush with the law dated back to 1974 when he released his famous album Zombie, generally considered by the military authorities in power as a diatribe leveled at them.
His songs were long, defiant, and explicitly anti-governments in power and anti-corruption.
Fela’s manager, Rikki Stein, said he was confident the award would “significantly uplift Fela’s music.”
“An increasing number of people who weren’t even born when Fela died are expressing interest in listening to Fela’s music and hopefully Fela’s message,” he said.
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