Fela Kuti (1938–1997) was the Nigerian composer, bandleader, and political activist who founded Afrobeat — long-form grooves built from highlife, jazz, funk, and Yoruba tradition. Zombie (1976) and Expensive Shit (1975) are the entry points, and the Knitting Factory reissues make the deep catalog easy to reach. Find Fela Kuti vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Fela Anikulapo Kuti was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria on October 15, 1938, into the politically prominent Ransome-Kuti family. He studied music at Trinity College London in the 1960s before returning to Nigeria. He spent time in Los Angeles in 1969-1970, where he developed his signature Afrobeat sound through extensive contact with Black Power activism and American funk and jazz. He returned to Nigeria and built the Kalakuta Republic compound and the Africa Shrine performance space in Lagos. His political activism against Nigerian military dictatorships produced extensive personal consequences, including multiple imprisonments and the 1977 Nigerian army raid on Kalakuta that resulted in the death of his mother Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. He recorded an extraordinary catalog of long-form Afrobeat compositions across the 1970s and 1980s. He died of AIDS-related complications on August 2, 1997 in Lagos. His sons Femi Kuti and Seun Kuti continue his musical work.
Fela Kuti's catalog defines Afrobeat as a recognized genre - combining West African highlife, jazz, funk, traditional Yoruba music, and political activism in long-form compositions typically running 15-30 minutes each. His big band Africa 70 (later Egypt 80) featured extensive horn and rhythm section arrangements with Fela leading on tenor saxophone, electric piano, and vocals.
Original EMI Nigeria, Coconut, and Kalakuta pressings of the Fela Kuti catalog are highly sought after collector items. Knitting Factory Records' comprehensive reissue program across the 2010s and Partisan Records' continued reissue programs have made the catalog widely accessible. Multiple Box Set: Compiled by [various] curator series have been issued.
Listeners new to Fela Kuti typically start with Zombie (1976) or Expensive Shit (1975).
