Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti (15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997 … Read Full Bio ↴Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti (15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997 ), known professionally as Fela Kuti, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, political maverick & leader of Fela Ransome Kuti & Africa 70.
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.
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.
Let's Start
Fela Kuti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We're gonna start our live recording right now
We gonna play for you our first tune tonight
It's gonna be about four tunes
And the first tune is called
O l'oun t'awa se n'yara
Je k'abere
Now, which means...
Let's start what we have come into the room to do
(Fela chuckles)
Right on
Here goes...
One, two, three
Ehn, ehn, eh, oh, oh
O l'oun t'awa se ni'yara o o
Je k'abere, ehn, ehn, eh
Ma s'oju binti binti si mi o o
Je k'abere, ehn, eh, eh
Ma s'oju mi o seri si mi o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o
Eh, oh, ehn
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Oya o o oya o
Oya o o o
Oya o o oya o
Oya o o o
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Bo ara o, o bo ara o o
Eh
O l'oun t'awa se ni'yara o o
Je k'abere, ehn, ehn
Ma s'oju mi o seri si mi o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Oya o o oya o
Oya o o o
Oya o o oya o
Oya o o o
Bo ara o o, bo'ra o o
Oya o o oya o
Oya o o o
Eh, eh, ehn, ehn, ehn, ehn, eh
O l'oun t'awa se ni'yara o o
Je k'abere, ehn, ehn, ehn, eh
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Ehn, ehn ehn je k'abere
Ose
Ehn, bo ara
Ehn, ehn, ehn oya o
Je k'abere
Ehn, ehn, ehn ose
Ehn, ma bo
Bo'ra o
Ehn, ose ose
Oya o o
Ehn, ehn
Oya o o o
Je k'abere
Oh oh
Oya o
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o o
Je k'abere
O ya o o o
Je k'abere
We gonna play for you our first tune tonight
It's gonna be about four tunes
And the first tune is called
O l'oun t'awa se n'yara
Je k'abere
Now, which means...
Let's start what we have come into the room to do
Right on
Here goes...
One, two, three
Ehn, ehn, eh, oh, oh
O l'oun t'awa se ni'yara o o
Je k'abere, ehn, ehn, eh
Ma s'oju binti binti si mi o o
Je k'abere, ehn, eh, eh
Ma s'oju mi o seri si mi o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o
Eh, oh, ehn
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Oya o o oya o
Oya o o o
Oya o o oya o
Oya o o o
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Bo ara o, o bo ara o o
Eh
O l'oun t'awa se ni'yara o o
Je k'abere, ehn, ehn
Ma s'oju mi o seri si mi o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
Oya o o oya o
Oya o o o
Oya o o oya o
Oya o o o
Bo ara o o, bo'ra o o
Oya o o oya o
Oya o o o
Eh, eh, ehn, ehn, ehn, ehn, eh
O l'oun t'awa se ni'yara o o
Je k'abere, ehn, ehn, ehn, eh
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Ehn, ehn ehn je k'abere
Ose
Ehn, bo ara
Ehn, ehn, ehn oya o
Je k'abere
Ehn, ehn, ehn ose
Ehn, ma bo
Bo'ra o
Ehn, ose ose
Oya o o
Ehn, ehn
Oya o o o
Je k'abere
Oh oh
Oya o
Oya o o
Je k'abere
Oya o o o
Je k'abere
O ya o o o
Je k'abere
The song "Let's Start" by Fela Kuti is a live recording that was played at an event in Nigeria. The song opens with Fela's voice announcing that they will be playing four tunes. This announcement sets the mood for the song that follows. The lyrics in the song are in Yoruba, one of the major languages spoken in Nigeria. The title of the first tune, "O l'oun t'awa se n'yara, Je k'abere" translates to "Let's start what we have come into the room to do."
In the verses, Fela urges people to get on with their intentions and start doing what needs to be done without any further delay. He encourages his listeners to focus on their goals and avoid being distracted by those who might bring negativity. The repetitive call and response between Fela and the band creates a rhythm that culminates in the chorus, where the band conjures a happy and energizing atmosphere.
While the lyrics may seem simple from a translation standpoint, the message of the song is powerful. Fela Kuti's music was always highly political and encouraged social change, often criticizing the corrupt government of Nigeria. "Let's Start" can be seen as a call to action, urging his listeners to start doing what needs to be done to change the state of the society and country they live in.
Line by Line Meaning
We're gonna start our live recording right now
The live recording is about to start immediately
We gonna play for you our first tune tonight
The first song of the night is about to be performed
It's gonna be about four tunes
There will be around four songs played
And the first tune is called
The name of the first song is
O l'oun t'awa se n'yara
O l'oun t'awa se n'yara is the name of the first song
Je k'abere
Translated to 'let's start what we have come to do'
Now, which means...
This is an explanation of the meaning of the song title
(Fela chuckles)
Fela chuckles in the background
Right on
An affirmation of what is about to happen
One, two, three
Counting down to the start of the song
O l'oun t'awa se ni'yara o o
Repeating the title of the song
Je k'abere, ehn, ehn, eh
Repeating the meaning of the song title
Ma s'oju binti binti si mi o o
Don't stare at me suspiciously
Ma s'oju mi o seri si mi o o
Don't look at me with malice
Oya o o
Need an energetic response to Je k'abere
Bo ara o o, bo ara o o
People know themselves
Bo ara o o, bo'ra o o
People know themselves
Ose
Thank you
Writer(s): Valentine Bartee, Adam Deitch, Nigel Hall, Ransome Kuti Fela, Charles Stewart, Eric Krasno
Contributed by Caleb W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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@gd73
No one cares if you came here from Netflix. Just enjoy good music.
@renewilson2540
🙄 It's okay to acknowledge, remind mainstream networks to USE GOOD MUSIC!
@bethwalker7428
I'm here 💘
@jazzyjakie50
Happy to be here! All smiles to good music!
@gabrielbartholomew8654
Yes sure
@joshmeep1058
I came from that regina king fight scene😂
@dannyegbe
Fela kuti is the greatest artist that has ever existed in Nigeria and Africa.
@mariacastro2682
Oh yeah,..genius
@bbwinans9594
Hugh Masekela?
@basilchitani2740
The world 🌎