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.
Shuffering And Shmiling
Fela Kuti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you non-Africans, listen to me with open mind
Suffer, suffer, suffer, suffer, suffer
Suffer for world
Na your fault be that
Me I say: na your fault be that
Out of this musical contraption
And put your minds into any goddamn church
Any goddamn mosque
Any goddamn Celestical
Including Seraphoom and Cheruboom
Now, we are all there now
Our minds are in those places
Here we go
[Chorus]
Amen!
Suffer, suffer for world
Enjoy for Heaven
Christians go dey yab
"In Spiritum Heavinus"
Muslims go dey call
"Allahu Akbar"
Open you eye everywhere
Archbishop na miliki
Pope na enjoyment
Imam na gbaladun
[Chorus]
Archbishop dey enjoy
Pope self dey enjoy
Imam self dey enjoy
My brother wetin you say?
My brother wetin you say?
My sister wetin you go hear?
My sister wetin you go hear?
Archbishop dey for London
Pope dey for Rome
Imam dey for Mecca
Archbishop dey for London
Pope dey for Rome
Imam dey for Mecca
[Chorus]
Amen!
My people them go dey follow Bishop
Them go follow Pope
Them go follow Imam
Them go go for London
Them go go for Rome
Them go go for Mecca
Them go carry all the money
Them go juba Bishop
Juba Pope
Juba Imam
Then them go start to yab themselves:
[Fela starts chanting in mock-Latin/Arabic]
Every day, for house
Every day, for road
Every day, for bus
Every day, for work
My people, my people
My people, my people
We now have to carry our minds
Out of those goddamn places
Back into this musical contraption
Right opposite you
Now we are back here
This is what happens to we Africans every day
Now wetin I want tell you now
Na secret o
Na confidential matter
Don't tell anybody outside
Na between me and you
Now listen
As I dey say before
E dey happen to all of us every day
We Africans all over the world
Now listen
[Chorus]
Suffering and smiling!
Every day my people dey inside bus
Every day my people dey inside bus
Forty-nine sitting, ninety-nine standing
Them go pack themselves in like sardine
Them dey faint, them dey wake like cock
Them go reach house, water no dey
Them go reach bed, power no dey
Them go reach road, go-slow go come
Them go reach road, police go slap
Them go reach road, army go whip
Them go look pocket, money no dey
Them go reach work, query ready
Every day na the same thing
Every day na the same thing
Every day na the same thing
Every day na the same thing
Suffer, suffer for world...
How many, many a many you go make?
Many, many...
How many, many a many you go make?
Many, many...
How many, many a many you go make?
Many, many...
How many, many a many you go make?
Many, many...
The song "Shuffering and Shmiling" by Fela Kuti criticizes the sufferings and smiling attitude of Africans towards their own exploitation and oppression. The lyrics start by addressing Africans to listen with an open mind and then ask the listeners to take their minds out of the musical contraption and place them in a church, mosque, or Celestical. He then mentions various religious leaders - archbishop, pope, and imam - saying that they enjoy themselves while Africans suffer.
The chorus echoes "suffering and smiling" and addresses how people suffer every day, whether it's inside the bus or at work, and highlights that the situation remains the same. The lyrics point out that people follow religious leaders to different places such as London, Rome, and Mecca, carry all their money and jubilate in front of their leaders while continuing to suffer.
Fela Kuti then talks about the secret, confidential matter that happens to Africans all over the world every day. The song concludes with a rhetorical question about how many many a many people will make while suffering.
Overall, the song highlights the sufferings of Africans worldwide and questions the role of religious leaders in their lives. Fela Kuti uses his music to address social and political issues and promote social consciousness.
Line by Line Meaning
You Africans, please listen to me as Africans
A request to fellow Africans to pay attention.
And you non-Africans, listen to me with open mind
An appeal to non-Africans to approach his message without bias.
Suffer, suffer, suffer, suffer, suffer
Emphasis on the experience of suffering.
Suffer for world
Suffering is part of the world we live in.
Na your fault be that
The blame for suffering lies with those who perpetuate injustice.
Me I say: na your fault be that
Repetition of the above statement for emphasis.
I want you all to please take your minds
A request to focus on his message.
Out of this musical contraption
A reference to the music they are listening to.
And put your minds into any goddamn church
A suggestion to turn to religion for guidance.
Any goddamn mosque
The suggestion also applies to Islam.
Any goddamn Celestical
The suggestion also applies to Celestical and other religious movements.
Including Seraphoom and Cheruboom
A specific reference to certain religious movements.
[Chorus]
Transition to the chorus.
Amen!
The response that is expected after making a religious declaration.
Enjoy for Heaven
The reward for suffering is in heaven.
Christians go dey yab
Christians will taunt and tease others for not being part of their religion.
In Spiritum Heavinus
A made-up Latin phrase which means the same thing as 'Enjoy for Heaven'.
Muslims go dey call
Muslims will call out and exalt their God in public.
"Allahu Akbar"
A phrase used to praise and declare allegiance to God in Islam.
Open you eye everywhere
Be attentive and observant everywhere you go.
Archbishop na miliki
The Archbishop is enjoying luxury.
Pope na enjoyment
The Pope is also enjoying himself.
Imam na gbaladun
The Imam is living a comfortable life.
Archbishop dey enjoy
A repetition of the statement to emphasize the perceived enjoyment of religious leaders.
Pope self dey enjoy
Continuation of the repetition.
Imam self dey enjoy
Continuation of the repetition.
My brother wetin you say?
A question posed to the listener for their thoughts.
My sister wetin you go hear?
The same question as before, but directed at women.
Archbishop dey for London
The specific location where the Archbishop is enjoying luxury.
Pope dey for Rome
The specific location where the Pope is enjoying himself.
Imam dey for Mecca
The specific location where the Imam is living a comfortable life.
My people them go dey follow Bishop
People will follow religious leaders blindly.
Them go follow Pope
People will also blindly follow the Pope.
Them go follow Imam
People will likewise blindly follow the Imam.
Them go go for London
People will travel to London in pursuit of luxury.
Them go go for Rome
People will travel to Rome in pursuit of enjoying themselves.
Them go go for Mecca
People will travel to Mecca in pursuit of religious fulfillment.
Them go carry all the money
People will sacrifice their resources to pursue these desires.
Them go juba Bishop
People will lavish praise on Bishops.
Juba Pope
People will also lavish praise on the Pope.
Juba Imam
People will likewise lavish praise on the Imam.
Then them go start to yab themselves:
Then, after achieving their desires, they will begin to taunt and tease each other.
[Fela starts chanting in mock-Latin/Arabic]
The chanting is a representation of the taunts and teasing that will happen.
Every day, for house
Life at home is a struggle.
Every day, for road
Life on the road is a struggle.
Every day, for bus
The struggle continues in crowded public transport.
Every day, for work
Even at work, the struggle does not end.
Forty-nine sitting, ninety-nine standing
Illustration of the overcrowded conditions of public transport in Nigeria.
Them go pack themselves in like sardine
Further emphasis on the crowded conditions.
Them dey faint, them dey wake like cock
The struggle causes physical exhaustion.
Them go reach house, water no dey
The basic necessity of water is not met at home.
Them go reach bed, power no dey
The basic necessity of power (electricity) is not provided even at home.
Them go reach road, go-slow go come
Traffic delays on the road contribute to the struggle.
Them go reach road, police go slap
Police brutality adds to the struggle.
Them go reach road, army go whip
Military brutality also adds to the struggle.
Them go look pocket, money no dey
Lack of financial resources adds to the struggle.
Them go reach work, query ready
Even at work, there is punishment for not meeting targets.
Every day na the same thing
The repetition emphasizes that the struggle is an everyday occurrence.
How many, many a many you go make?
How long will you continue to perpetrate these struggles?
Many, many...
A long period of time.
How many, many a many you go make?
Repetition for emphasis.
Many, many...
Further emphasis on the length of time.
Contributed by Makayla R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.