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.
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Trouble Sleep
Fela Kuti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When trouble sleep
Yanga go wake am
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o)
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
When cat sleep
Rat go bite him tail
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
Tenant lost him job
Him sit down for house
Him dey think of job
Mr. landord come wake am up
He say, "mister, pay me your rent"
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
My friend just come from prison
Him dey look for work
Waka waka day and night
Police man come stop am for road
He say, "mister, I charge you for wandering"
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
Mr. husband marry for church
He make big party
Then he start to spra
Because him love him wife
Him say, "wife come run away"
Bank manager run come
He say, "mister, pay me your debt"
Waking him dey find, for lagos e-o
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
When trouble sleep
Yanga go wake am
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver, he go get-e o
When cat sleep
Rat go bite him tail
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver, he go get e-o
Ra ra-ra ra
Yanga go wake am
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o)
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
When cat sleep
Rat go bite him tail
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
Tenant lost him job
Him sit down for house
Him dey think of job
Mr. landord come wake am up
He say, "mister, pay me your rent"
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
My friend just come from prison
Him dey look for work
Waka waka day and night
Police man come stop am for road
He say, "mister, I charge you for wandering"
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
Mr. husband marry for church
He make big party
Then he start to spra
Because him love him wife
Him say, "wife come run away"
Bank manager run come
He say, "mister, pay me your debt"
Waking him dey find, for lagos e-o
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
When trouble sleep
Yanga go wake am
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver, he go get-e o
When cat sleep
Rat go bite him tail
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver, he go get e-o
Ra ra-ra ra
The lyrics of Fela Kuti's song "Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am" describe how trouble never sleeps and how it always seems to come knocking at the door of those already in difficult situations. The song presents a series of scenarios that highlight the struggles and challenges faced by people in different situations, all trying to survive and make ends meet. When trouble sleeps, it is said that "yanga" (a slang term for cunningness) will wake it up, and once awakened, trouble will always bring more troubles or "palaver."
The first scenario portrays how when a troublemaker is idle, trouble will come looking for them. The second scenario about a cat and a rat speaks to how when someone is vulnerable, their enemies will take advantage of them. The third scenario about a tenant who has lost their job and cannot pay rent is a common problem in Lagos, Nigeria, where Fela lived and worked as a musician. The fourth scenario is about a friend who has just been released from prison and is being harassed by the police. The fifth scenario is about a man who has spent all his money on a wedding for his wife but cannot pay his debts. In all of these situations, trouble never seems to go away.
Line by Line Meaning
When trouble sleep
When there is calm, problems arise
Yanga go wake am
Problems will arise on their own
Waking him dey find
The one with the problem will try to find a solution
Palaver, he dey find
He will find problems
Palaver, he go get-e o)
He will surely have problems
Palaver, he go get
He will definitely have problems
Palaver
Problems
When cat sleep
When there is no suspicion of trouble
Rat go bite him tail
Problems will arise on their own
Tenant lost him job
A tenant has lost their job
Him sit down for house
They are sitting at home
Him dey think of job
They are thinking of finding a job
Mr. landord come wake am up
The landlord comes and demands rent
He say, "mister, pay me your rent"
The landlord asks for rent payment
My friend just come from prison
A friend has just been released from prison
Him dey look for work
They are looking for a job
Waka waka day and night
They are walking around day and night
Police man come stop am for road
The police stop and accuse them of wandering
He say, "mister, I charge you for wandering"
The police accuse the person of wandering
Mr. husband marry for church
A man got married in church
He make big party
He had a big party
Then he start to spra
Then he starts showing off
Because him love him wife
Because he loves his wife
Him say, "wife come run away"
He tells his wife to run away
Bank manager run come
The bank manager rushes in
He say, "mister, pay me your debt"
The bank manager demands payment of the debt
for lagos e-o
In Lagos
Palaver, he go get-e o
He will surely have problems
Palaver, he go get
He will definitely have problems
Palaver, he go get e-o
He will surely have problems
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (FRANCE), BMG Rights Management, EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING FRANCE
Written by: FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it
@rzasushi1985
Beautiful, Una maravilla de cancion,
Wake up People! WE NEED WAKE UP NOW<
Only you your own generation will suffer,
you tell me why this has 23k views, when trash music has 20+ MIllion views
DESPIERTEN.
@gifts.maphanga2988
Lyrics
When trouble sleep
Yanga go wake am
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o)
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
When cat sleep
Rat go bite him tail
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
Tenant lost him job
Him sit down for house
Him dey think of job
Mr. landord come wake am up
He say, “mister, pay me your rent”
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
My friend just come from prison
Him dey look for work
Waka waka day and night
Police man come stop am for road
He say, “mister, I charge you for wandering”
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
Mr. husband marry for church
He make big party
Then he start to spra
Because him love him wife
Him say, “wife come run away”
Bank manager run come
He say, “mister, pay me your debt”
Waking him dey find, for lagos e-o
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver
When trouble sleep
Yanga go wake am
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver, he go get-e o
When cat sleep
Rat go bite him tail
Waking him dey find
Palaver, he dey find
Palaver, he go get-e o
Palaver, he go get
Palaver, he go get e-o
Ra ra-ra ra
@reakelly100
I'm from Montreal, living in Toronto, and this music speaks volumes to me. it's full of life and passion and it inspires me.
@barbarachi7930
I fell in love with this song when I was 3 and I still listen to it in my 30's ,this is what I call legendary. Bow down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@kolawolebabatunde8712
A composer, writer, producer,fighter,defender,an ero,actor. Can we see anybody like fela kuti in Nigeria again, hmmmm
@rudyray6541
Just heard this song on VICELAND and I'm feeling peace. Nigerian music is "NEVER" gone.
@simonewhite7977
I don't know what part of Africa my ancestors we're from but i truly hope they we're Nigerian. It would explain why i feel such a strong connection to the people, the culture & most definitely the music.
@samtheresearcher
Most African-Americans have Nigerian ancestries. This is not surprising. However, Fela was a genius. One of a kind. His music appeals to all - not just persons of Nigerian origins. Fela was intelligent and articulate. He was a master of his craft
@vincijoel5254
The Best
@codyk.8104
Sam Oystein exactly. I was gonna say this mans music resonates deeply with my soul, and I am German and Norwegian. His music touches those who have open ears and open hearts.
@angelathomas734
"African Woman" was the first song I heard back in the 70s when I was studying in Nova Scotia & my Nigerian bf played it for me but also like Palava. I was his son perform at the Harbourfront Toronto, ON. Canada and you would have thought that it was Fela himself. The chips certainly didn't fall far from the block.
@Nigeria2015
This song just calmed me down after a stressful couple of hours. My medicine this is !