Since then, he has led Egypt 80 as lead vocalist and saxophonist, the focal point of a band that his father had forged into one of Africa’s most legendary ensembles. While Seun is the front man, a star in his own right who is routinely recognized by fans on the streets of Lagos, in many ways Egypt 80 is still his father’s band. In performance, Seun comes across as a perfect stand-in for his famous Father but also stays very personal. His singing voice is deep like Fela’s, and his alto saxophone hits the lines and hooks his father composed with the same muscular style, although he tries to bring his own flavor to the obligatory solos on saxophone and synthesizer. And like Fela, on stage Seun lives up to a reputation as a sex symbol, shimmying, winding his hips and often discarding his shirt, to the delight of lady fans.
Fela’s Afrobeat was a pungent blend of funk and jazz with an African sensibility, reminiscent of James Brown but grittier, nastier and vaguely unsettling, like fermenting fruit. With Seun, Egypt 80 is as explosive as they were under Fela, combining horns, keyboards, percussion, guitars and vocals in a sophisticated and overpowering blend that is always insistent. In the 70s the band performed almost nightly at The Shrine, a club Fela established, but these days they rehearse once a week and play three or four times a month at various venues around Lagos, sometimes in huge stadiums alongside other artists. The band also tours regularly in Europe, they already hit France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, UK, Belgium, but also South Africa, Ghana…
Seun was literally born to do this, and seems unconcerned by the constant comparisons to his father. For Seun, taking up where his father left off is about building on Fela’s legacy, not trying to escape it. He wrote a song on Malaria disease for a festival in Dakar where he jammed with Manu Dibango and Tony Allen for the BBC film « Africa Live : the RollBack Malaria concert» sponsored by the UN fundation that has been bradcasted around the whole world.
"If I’m in my father’s shadow then it doesn’t trouble me to be," he says. "If that’s all I can get, it’s a very good place to be. He was a very great man." He pauses. "But of course every artist wants to define themselves." Seun says he and his father were close, and Fela’s death at the age of 58 hit the teenager hard. Fela had other children by other women, but took a special interest in Seun, who is one of only two sons to follow their father into a career in music. But having inherited the leadership of Fela’s band, Seun can be more selective about what else he chooses to take from the example of Fela’s life. In artistic terms he is also determined to chart his own course. Seun has just finished to record two original tracks, « Think Africa » and Fire Dance » to be soon released in Vynil 12 inches and on I Tunes in order to innovate his own style. Seun also wants to update his father’s political message.
He heartily endorses Fela’s politics ("He wasn’t afraid," Seun says proudly) and relishes the fact that many of the songs he performs pillory by name Nigeria’s current president, Olusegun Obasanjo (who was also head of state in the mid-1970s when Fela recorded some of his most biting broadsides, including a track blaming Obasanjo for his mother’s death in an infamous army raid on Fela’s Kalakuta compound). But right now Seun seems unlikely to form a political party, as his father did in the late 70s. And Seun hopes to offer his listeners a slightly different message from his father’s. "I want to make Afrobeat for my generation. Instead of ‘get up and fight,’ it’s going to be ‘get up and think,’" he says. Seun once said "I have to play my father’s songs until I’m ready." With an album of his own creations in the works, presumably he’s finally set to stake his own musical claim instead of trading on his father’s name. In so doing, perhaps he can muster the kind of iconic voice and presence that made Fela one of his generation’s most politically influential cultural artists. It’s already clear that Seun’s name and music resonate with a new generation of Nigerians, many of whom are too young to remember his father’s heyday. No, it can’t be easy to be a leader to the teeming, aggressive and often undisciplined legions of Nigeria’s youth. But maybe Seun Kuti is one man for the job. Seun Kuti just like his father, the late Fela Kuti , represents a minority of thinkers. Those who choose to question the ruling bodies, those who strive for quality of life and those who are not afraid to shine a light on the corruption that sprawls behind closed government doors. He represents a generation who act upon these thoughts and voice the truth. He does so without weapons, brutality and political agendas. He does so through music. And that music is Afrobeat. A fusion of big band jazz, funk, and traditional African sounds. Fela left behind two things he treasured most. Afrobeat: the musical style he pioneered and his band, Egypt 80. Seun chose to continue the legacy of his father by taking on the band, in partnership with its longstanding bandleader, Baba Ani. With Seun deemed lead singer, the band is a twenty-piece power house. Much of the magic of their live shows derives from the energetic exchange between musicians and dancers. It is hard to imagine that the leader, able to emulate his father’s songs and style with such grace, is a mere 24 years old and his sister, Motunrayo Kuti, still one of the most vibrant dancers on stage. Bearing his Dad’s looks, Seun is a great saxophonist, an activist and groovewriter. He promises a serious funk mix of new album material and Fela classics which won’t let you stand still. The band is a power-house of explosive dance grooves, the hookiest basslines, big spectacle and politicised energy. Much of the magic of their live shows derives from the energetic exchange between at least 18 musicians and dancers. It's a full-on, funk-happy sound that'll take you to the edge and back...
http://www.myspace.com/seunkuti
Fire Dance
Seun Kuti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Na to dance, till day break e oooo
Dance, dance, dance, like my powerful ancestors
The way our women dey move
The way them dey move the body
The way them dey shake the body
The way them dey wind the body
The way them dey twist the body
Them dey shake the body
Them dey wind the body
Them dey shake the body
How them dey shake am (Shake am like fire)
How them dey shake am (Shake am like fire)
Like e go burn you if you touch am (Shake am like fire)
E no fit burn you if you touch am (Shake am like fire)
Abeg no fear my brother near am (Shake am like fire)
Make you near am like man o (Shake am like fire)
See the yansh wey dey (Shake am like fire)
I go near the yansh wey dey (Shake am like fire)
Control the yansh wey dey (Shake am like fire)
I go feel the yansh wey dey (Shake am like fire)
Si si wey no fit shake am like that
I say if you know say you know fit shake am like that
Si si wey no fit shake am like that
I say if you know say you know fit shake am like that
Oduro, you stand you dey look everybody
Toba joko ko dide, make we feel the dance o
Jebu, dey (Do the dance o, shake am like fire)
Jebu, dey (Let me do the dance o)
Jebu, dey (Do the dance o, shake am like fire)
Jebu, dey (Let me do the dance o)
Do the dance o (Do the dans o, shake am like fire)
Do the dance o (Let me do the dance o)
Fire dance o (Do the dance o, shake am like fire)
Do the dance o (Let me do the dance o)
The song "Fire Dance" by Seun Kuti & Fela's Egypt 80 is a celebration of dance and music as an integral part of African culture. The lyrics exhort listeners to join in the dance and shake their bodies like fire, emulating the movements of their powerful ancestors. The song highlights the unique way African women move their bodies when they dance, with sensual, powerful twists and shakes that embody the beauty and strength of African femininity.
Seun Kuti and Fela's Egypt 80 uses the song to encourage people to embrace their African heritage and appreciate the richness of African culture. They praise the dance as a way of connecting with their ancestors and tapping into the collective consciousness of their people. The song is a call to action, urging people to come together and celebrate their culture through music and dance.
Line by Line Meaning
Na the dance, make me come here today
I came here today to dance
Na to dance, till day break e oooo
I will dance until daybreak
Dance, dance, dance, like my powerful ancestors
Dance like my ancestors who were powerful
The way our women dey move
The way our women move
The way them dey move the body
The way they move their bodies
The way them dey shake the body
The way they shake their bodies
The way them dey wind the body
The way they move their bodies in a winding motion
The way them dey twist the body
The way they twist their bodies
I say them dey move the body
They move their bodies
Them dey shake the body
They shake their bodies
Them dey wind the body
They move their bodies in a winding motion
Them dey shake the body
They shake their bodies
How them dey shake am (Shake am like fire)
They shake their bodies like fire
How them dey shake am (Shake am like fire)
They shake their bodies like fire
Like e go burn you if you touch am (Shake am like fire)
They shake their bodies as if it will burn you upon touch
E no fit burn you if you touch am (Shake am like fire)
It won't actually burn you if you touch them while they're shaking like fire
Abeg no fear my brother near am (Shake am like fire)
Don't be afraid to get close and shake with them like fire, my brother
Make you near am like man o (Shake am like fire)
Get close and shake like fire, like a man
See the yansh wey dey (Shake am like fire)
Look at the butt that's there and shake it like fire
I go near the yansh wey dey (Shake am like fire)
I will get close to the butt and shake it like fire
Control the yansh wey dey (Shake am like fire)
Control the butt and shake it like fire
I go feel the yansh wey dey (Shake am like fire)
I will feel the butt and shake it like fire
Si si wey no fit shake am like that
Those who can't shake like that
I say if you know say you know fit shake am like that
If you know you can't shake like that
Oduro, you stand you dey look everybody
Oduro, you're standing and looking at everyone
Toba joko ko dide, make we feel the dance o
If you sit and stand up, we can all feel the dance
Jebu, dey (Do the dance o, shake am like fire)
Jebu, dance and shake it like fire
Jebu, dey (Let me do the dance o)
Jebu, let me dance
Jebu, dey (Do the dance o, shake am like fire)
Jebu, dance and shake it like fire
Jebu, dey (Let me do the dance o)
Jebu, let me dance
Do the dance o (Do the dans o, shake am like fire)
Dance and shake it like fire
Do the dance o (Let me do the dance o)
Let me dance
Fire dance o (Do the dance o, shake am like fire)
Dance and shake it like fire in a fire dance
Do the dance o (Let me do the dance o)
Let me dance
Lyrics © LILI LOUISE MUSIQUE
Written by: KUTI OLUWASEUN ANIKULAPO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind