HMV Magazine ranked him as #46 on a list of the 100 most influential musicians of the 20th century.
The musical style performed by Fela Kuti is called Afrobeat, which is essentially a fusion of jazz, funk, highlife, and traditional Yoruban chants and rhythms. It is characterized by having African-style percussion, vocals, and musical structure, along with jazzy, funky horn sections. The endless groove is also used, in which a base rhythm of drums, shekere, muted guitar, and bass guitar are repeated throughout the song. His band was notable for featuring two baritone saxophones, whereas most groups using this instrument only use one. This is a common technique in African and African-influenced musical styles, and can be seen in funk and hip-hop. Some elements often present in Fela's music are the call-and-response within the chorus and figurative but simple lyrics. Fela's songs were almost always over 10 minutes in length, some reaching the 20- or even 30-minute marks, while some unreleased tracks would last up to 45 minutes when performed live. This was one of many reasons that his music never reached a substantial degree of popularity outside of Africa. His songs were mostly sung in Nigerian pidgin, although he also performed a few songs in the Yoruba language. Fela's main instruments were the saxophone and the keyboards, but he also played the trumpet, guitar, and took the occasional drum solo. Fela refused to perform songs again after he had already recorded them, which also hindered his popularity outside Africa. Fela was known for his showmanship, and his concerts were often quite outlandish and wild. He referred to his stage act as the Underground Spiritual Game.
Fela was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, to a middle-class family. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement and his father, Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, a Protestant minister and school Principal, was the first president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers. His brothers, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti and Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti,both medical doctors, are both well known in Nigeria.
Fela was sent to London in 1958 to study medicine but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music. While there, he formed the band Koola Lobitos, playing a style of music that he would later call Afrobeat. The style was a fusion of American Jazz, psychedelic rock, and Funk with West African Highlife. In 1961, Fela married his first wife, Remilekun (Remi) Taylor, with whom he would have three children (Femi, Yeni, and Sola). In 1963, Fela moved back to Nigeria, re-formed Koola Lobitos and trained as a radio producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. In 1969, Fela took the band to the United States. While there, Fela discovered the Black power movement through Sandra Smith (now Isidore)—a partisan of the Black Panther Party—which would heavily influence his music and political views and renamed the band Nigeria ’70. Soon, the Immigration and Naturalization Service was tipped off by a promoter that Fela and his band were in the US without work permits. The band then performed a quick recording session in Los Angeles that would later be released as The '69 Los Angeles Sessions.
Fela and his band, renamed Africa '70, returned to Nigeria. He then formed the Kalakuta Republic, a commune, a recording studio, and a home for many connected to the band that he later declared independent from the Nigerian state. Fela set up a nightclub in the Empire Hotel, named the Afro-Spot and then the Afrika Shrine, where he performed regularly. Fela also changed his middle name to Anikulapo (meaning "he who carries death in his pouch"), stating that his original middle name of Ransome was a slave name. The recordings continued, and the music became more politically motivated. Fela's music became very popular among the Nigerian public and Africans in general. In fact, he made the decision to sing in Pidgin English so that his music could be enjoyed by individuals all over Africa, where the local languages spoken are very diverse and numerous. As popular as Fela's music had become in Nigeria and elsewhere, it was also very unpopular with the ruling government, and raids on the Kalakuta Republic were frequent. In 1974 the police arrived with a search warrant and a cannabis joint, which they had intended to plant on Fela. He became wise to this and swallowed the joint. In response, the police took him into custody and waited to examine his feces. Fela enlisted the help of his prison mates and gave the police someone else's feces, and Fela was freed. He then recounted this tale in his release Expensive Shit (now released together with "He Miss Road" as Expensive Shit/He Miss Road).
In 1977 Fela and the Afrika ’70 released the hit album Zombie, a scathing attack on Nigerian soldiers using the zombie metaphor to describe the methods of the Nigerian military. The album was a smash hit with the people and infuriated the government, setting off a vicious attack against the Kalakuta Republic, during which one thousand soldiers attacked the commune. Fela was severely beaten, and his elderly mother was thrown from a window, causing fatal injuries. The Kalakuta Republic was burned, and Fela's studio, instruments, and master tapes were destroyed. Fela claimed that he would have been killed if it were not for the intervention of a commanding officer as he was being beaten. Fela's response to the attack was to deliver his mother's coffin to the main army barrack in Lagos and write two songs, "Coffin for Head of State" and "Unknown Soldier," referencing the official inquiry that claimed the commune had been destroyed by an unknown soldier.
Fela and his band then took residence in Crossroads Hotel as the Shrine had been destroyed along with his commune. In 1978 Fela married 27 women, many of whom were his dancers, composers, and singers to mark the anniversary of the attack on the Kalakuta Republic. Later, he was to adopt a rotation system of keeping only twelve simultaneous wives. The year was also marked by two notorious concerts, the first in Accra in which riots broke out during the song "Zombie," which led to Fela being banned from entering Ghana. The second was at the Berlin Jazz Festival after which most of Fela's musicians deserted him, due to rumors that Fela was planning to use the entirety of the proceeds to fund his presidential campaign.
Despite the massive setbacks, Fela was determined to come back. He formed his own political party, which he called 'Movement of the People'. In 1979 he put himself forward for President in Nigeria's first elections for more than a decade but his candidature was refused. At this time, Fela created a new band called Egypt 80 and continued to record albums and tour the country. He further infuriated the political establishment by dropping the names of ITT vice-president Moshood Abiola and then General Olusegun Obasanjo at the end of a hot-selling 25-minute political screed titled "I. T. T. (International Thief Thief)."
In 1984, he was again attacked by the Military government, who jailed him on a dubious charge of currency smuggling. His case was taken up by several human-rights groups, and after 20 months, he was released from prison by General Ibrahim Babangida. On his release he divorced his 12 remaining wives, saying that "marriage brings jealousy and selfishness." Once again, Fela continued to release albums with Egypt 80, made a number of successful tours of the United States and Europe and also continued to be politically active. In 1986, Fela performed in Giants Stadium in New Jersey as part of the Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope concert, sharing the bill with Bono, Carlos Santana, and the Neville Brothers. In 1989, Fela & Egypt 80 released the anti-apartheid "Beasts of No Nation" album that depicts on its cover U.S. President Ronald Reagan, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and South African Prime Minister P.W. Botha with fangs dripping blood.
His album output slowed in the 1990s, and eventually he stopped releasing albums altogether. The battle against military corruption in Nigeria was taking its toll, especially during the rise of dictator Sani Abacha. Rumors were also spreading that he was suffering from an illness for which he was refusing treatment. On 3 August 1997, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, already a prominent AIDS activist and former Minister of Health, stunned the nation by announcing his younger brother's death a day earlier from Kaposi's sarcoma brought on by AIDS. (Their younger brother Beko was in jail at this time at the hand of Abacha for political activity). More than a million people attended Fela's funeral at the site of the old Shrine compound. A new Africa Shrine has opened since Fela's death in a different section of Lagos under the supervision of his son Femi Kuti.
Ikoyi Mentality Versus Mushin Mentality
Fela Kuti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Make we hear how people different for this our Lagos town (make we hear how people different)
For this our Lagos town (make we hear how people different)
Some people dey Ikoyi (make we hear how people different)
Some people dey Mushin (make we hear how people different)
Some people dey Ikoyi (make we hear how people different)
Some people dey Mushin
Make we hear how people different, uh huh
Make we hear how people different, uh huh
Ikoyi man, dey travel
Him travel all over the world
Him bring civilization for us
Civilization we no understand
Mushin man, dey for home
Him never travel anywhere at all
Him understand de people language
De language of Africa
Make we hear how people different for this our Lagos town (make we hear how people different)
For this our Lagos town (make we hear how people different)
Some people dey Ikoyi (make we hear how people different)
Some people dey Mushin
Make we hear how people different, uh huh
Make we hear how people different, uh huh
Ikoyi man, dey hungry
He go say, "Give me my breakfast
Give me my lunch, and my dinner
And my fork and knife and my spoon"
Mushin man, dey hungry
He go say, "Give me my chop
Give me my chop make ah work
Make ah work with anything at all"
Make we hear how people different for this our Lagos town (make we hear how people different)
For this our Lagos town (make we hear how people different)
Some people dey Ikoyi (make we hear how people different)
Some people dey Mushin
Make we hear how people different, uh huh
Make we hear how people different, uh huh
Ikoyi man, dey talk
He go talk in big, big English
He go wan' talk like Oyinbo man
And the man come from Ibadan
Mushin man, dey talk
He go talk in broken English
He go wan' talk like de way him know
De original African way of life
Make we hear how people different for this our Lagos town (make we hear how people different)
For this our Lagos town (make we hear how people different)
Some people dey Ikoyi (make we hear how people different)
Some people dey Mushin
Make we hear how people different, uh huh
Make we hear how people different, uh huh
Ikoyi way (na none sense)
I say Mushin way (na people)
Ikoyi way (na none sense)
I say Mushin way (na people)
Ikoyi way (na none sense)
I say Mushin way (na people)
Ikoyi way (na none sense)
I say Mushin way (na people)
Ikoyi way (na none sense)
I say Mushin way (na people)
Ikoyi way (na none sense)
I say Mushin way (na people)
The song Ikoyi Mentality Versus Mushin Mentality by Fela Kuti compares the lifestyle and mindset of people living in two different areas in Lagos, Nigeria - Ikoyi and Mushin. Ikoyi is a well-known affluent area, while Mushin is a densely populated and relatively less wealthy area. The song talks about the vast differences between the two areas, from their people to their language, manners, and lifestyle.
The song begins with Fela asking to hear how people in Lagos are different, indicating that he is going to be discussing the differences between Ikoyi and Mushin. He then goes on to talk about how an Ikoyi man travels all around the world and brings civilization that people in Nigeria cannot understand. On the other hand, a Mushin man never leaves home and speaks the local language, which is the language of Africa.
Fela also talks about how the hunger of an Ikoyi man is different from that of a Mushin man. The Ikoyi man will demand his breakfast, lunch, and dinner and will need his spoon and fork to eat, while the Mushin man will only demand his food to work with anything. Furthermore, Fela compares how an Ikoyi man talks in big English and tries to imitate the Oyinbo (White) man, whereas a Mushin man speaks in broken English and follows the original African way of life.
Overall, Fela's song Ikoyi Mentality Versus Mushin Mentality gives insight into the differences in the lifestyle and mindset of people living in different areas of Lagos, bringing to light the disparities faced by people in less wealthy areas.
Line by Line Meaning
One, two, three
Counting down to introduce the topic of the song.
Make we hear how people different for this our Lagos town (make we hear how people different)
Let's explore and acknowledge the diversity among people in Lagos.
For this our Lagos town (make we hear how people different)
Lagos is the focus of this discussion.
Some people dey Ikoyi (make we hear how people different)
There are people who live in Ikoyi, an affluent area in Lagos.
Some people dey Mushin (make we hear how people different)
There are also people who live in Mushin, a less privileged area in Lagos.
Some people dey Ikoyi (make we hear how people different)
Repeating that people from Ikoyi are different from people from Mushin.
Some people dey Mushin
Repeating that people from Mushin are different from people from Ikoyi.
Make we hear how people different, uh huh
Emphasizing the need to appreciate diversity among people in Lagos.
Ikoyi man, dey travel
Describing an Ikoyi man as someone who travels frequently.
Him travel all over the world
The Ikoyi man travels internationally.
Him bring civilization for us
The Ikoyi man is believed to bring modernization to Lagos.
Civilization we no understand
The people of Lagos do not fully comprehend or accept this modernization.
Mushin man, dey for home
Describing a Mushin man as someone who rarely travels outside his area.
Him never travel anywhere at all
The Mushin man has never left his locality.
Him understand de people language
The Mushin man can speak the language used by people in Lagos.
De language of Africa
The language of the people in Lagos is seen as representing African culture.
Ikoyi man, dey hungry
Describing an Ikoyi man as someone who is demanding and insatiable.
He go say, "Give me my breakfast
The Ikoyi man will demand all his meals to be served to him.
Give me my lunch, and my dinner
The Ikoyi man expects to be served with all meals throughout the day.
And my fork and knife and my spoon"
The Ikoyi man demands utensils to use when eating.
Mushin man, dey hungry
Describing a Mushin man as someone who is willing to work for their food.
He go say, "Give me my chop
"Chop" can refer to food or work.
Make ah work with anything at all"
The Mushin man is willing to work with what is available.
Ikoyi man, dey talk
Describing an Ikoyi man as someone who speaks in a condescending manner.
He go talk in big, big English
The Ikoyi man speaks English with complex vocabulary and grammar.
He go wan' talk like Oyinbo man
The Ikoyi man aspires to speak like white people.
And the man come from Ibadan
However, the Ikoyi man's ancestry can be traced to Ibadan, a nearby city.
Mushin man, dey talk
Describing a Mushin man as someone who speaks plainly.
He go talk in broken English
The Mushin man speaks English with basic vocabulary and grammar.
He go wan' talk like de way him know
The Mushin man speaks confidently in the way he knows best.
De original African way of life
The Mushin man values African culture and traditional ways of living.
Ikoyi way (na none sense)
The Ikoyi lifestyle is considered unnecessary and irrelevant.
I say Mushin way (na people)
The Mushin way of life is considered practical and connected to the people.
Ikoyi way (na none sense)
Repeating that the Ikoyi lifestyle is deemed irrelevant.
I say Mushin way (na people)
Repeating that the Mushin lifestyle is grounded in community and people.
Ikoyi way (na none sense)
Repeating that the Ikoyi lifestyle is unnecessary.
I say Mushin way (na people)
Repeating that the Mushin way of life is connected to the people.
Ikoyi way (na none sense)
Repeating that the Ikoyi lifestyle is seen as irrelevant.
I say Mushin way (na people)
Repeating that the Mushin way of life is valued for its community-centeredness.
Writer(s): Kuti Fela Anikulapo, Fela Anikulapo Kuti
Contributed by Vivian L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.