Till his death on August 2, 1997, Fela Anikulapo Kuti used his music as a tool for political activism, campaign for change, fight for justice, among other worthy causes.
The uniqueness of Fela, a multi- instrumentalist and pioneer of the Afrobeat genre, is his sustained campaigns against bad leadership, bad government policies, corruption, excesses of security personnel and even standing up against the military and religious leaders with his satirical lyrics and stage performances.
Sadly, all that Fela campaigned against while alive still abound, and even out of hand today, especially corruption, bad leadership and injustice.
Though Fela died over two decades ago, his music and principles he stood for still resonate today. Of course, the Afrobeat legend is still alive through his music, which is his legacy to his fans, the Nigerian people, and the world.
However, his children are making good efforts at keeping their late father’s legacy alive.
Seun, one of his children, has taken after him in style of music, mannerism and activism. Seun, who follows his father’s Afrobeat genre, a blend of traditional Yoruba, Afro-cuban music with funk and jazz, is also following his political activism style.
Like his father, Seun, the youngest son of the late Afrobeat pioneer, once again added his voice in tackling the socio-political malady in Nigeria with the release of his new single titled, ‘Theory of goat and yam’.
Read also: Fela was wrong Anger is the weapon
The new song picks its title from the parable told by Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, former Nigerian president, during a presidential media chat on February 11, 2015.
During the media chat, Jonathan addressed the question of criticism against corruption in his administration, stating that, “The issue of corruption in Nigeria is like a case of Goat and Yam”.
The parable basically saw the Nigerian people as the ‘yam’ and corrupt politicians as the ‘goat’, which stubbornly refuses to stop being corrupt and continues to steal the commonwealth of the nation.
In his creative analysis of the reasons the Nigerian people have continued to suffer in the midst of plenty, Seun asked, “If the goat is eating yam, what then are the owners of the goat eating”?
Explaining the theory, Seun says, “The theory explains the erroneous concept of ‘ chopping life’, which is a common mentality with Nigerians who believe in the idea of ‘chopping life’ to the point that corrupt politicians, public and private sector leaders do not mind eating Nigerians as a way to justify their corrupt opportunity to ‘chop life”.
For many afrobeat lovers, Seun’s new single, which tackles Nigeria’s socio-political malady, is timely, especially with the killings, bad leadership, corruption and protests.
Ayo Moses Ogedengbe, Seun’s manager, is excited that the afrobeat artiste is sustaining his father’s legacy and giving hope to the fight against all enemies of the masses, injustice, bad governance and excesses of security operatives, corruption among other vices in the society.
Apart from the new release, Seun has in the past, released singles and albums that are rich in satire amid stage performances against vices in the society, especially by the political class and security operatives in the country.
In February 2018, Seun Anikulapo Kuti and The Egypt 80 Band literally performed a story at Jazz a la Villette that held the audience glued to the stage in a mix of rapt attention and entertainment. According to many, who attended the enthralling show, it was an inspiration for a better Africa due to the strong wordings and call for action by the afrobeat crooner.
As an Afrobeat artiste, Seun Kuti has spent most of his life preserving and extending his father’s political activism and musical legacy as the leader of the Egypt 80 Band, Africa’s longest surviving band.
Born in early 1983, Seun showed interest in his father’s music from the age of five, and at nine, he began to open Fela’s shows, singing a select group of songs with Egypt 80 before his father took the stage. As a developing saxophonist and percussionist, he entered the formal ranks of the band before he was 12.
Fela passed on in 1997, and in fulfillment of his father’s wishes, Seun assumed the mantle as head of Egypt 80 Band, and has since taken the band across different continents of the world.
In 2018, as evidence of his great work ethic, the afrobeat artiste, who has been working for almost 26 years now, came out with his ‘Black Times’ album, which earned him a nomination in the World Music category at the 61st Grammy Awards.
Meanwhile, the music video of the new single was recently released and now available on Seun Kuti’s official Youtube channel.
