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
Na Oil
Seun Kuti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dem bring you for this world, you self start to de grow
You go school to read book, you no even go to school
You de use your own talent, working hard to enjoy
Everything you de do for yourself, ide give dem headache
You de try your best my brother, Edumare
Things just de better my brother, that one na deep skin pain
Then, then, then, then
Then, then, then, then
Dem star to feju (For house)
Dem de tight face (For road)
I say dem squez face (For work)
Dem de roju (For house)
Sometimes dem feju (For road)
Dem de tight face (For work)
Sometimes dem squez face (For house)
Dem de roju (For road)
I go pu myself for your place (Seun put yourself for my place)
I go put myself for your place (Seun put yourself for my place)
I go put myself for your place I go shout (Na oyeli ide carry)
Edumare s'ongbo (Na oyeli ide carry)
Make una here me now (Na oyeli ide carry)
My brothers, my sisters (Na oyeli ide carry)
Make una loud am make dem hear (Na oyeli ide carry)
My brother make you tell Obasanjo make dem stop
All dis dem monsens (Na oyeli ide carry
Na oyeli ide carry (Na oyeli ide carry)
Na oyeli ide carry (Na oyeli ide carry)
Na oyeli ide carry (Na oyeli ide carry)
You be man my borther, you get your woman
You be woman my sister, you self get your man
Una poi together, orisirisi just dey happen sa
Una poi your child or pikin, working hard to make him someone
You get food you no get, you go make sure he chop
Dem si say ego better, dem want quench am for you
Then, then, then, then
Then, then, then, then
Dem star to feju (For house)
Dem de tight face (For road)
I say dem squez face (For work)
Dem de roju (For house)
Sometimes dem feju (For road)
Dem de tight face (For work)
Sometimes dem squez face (For house)
Dem de roju (For road)
I go pu myself for your place (Seun put yourself for my place)
I go put myself for your place (Seun put yourself for my place)
I go put myself for your place I go shout (Na oyeli ide carry)
Edumare s'ongbo (Na oyeli ide carry)
Make una here me now (Na oyeli ide carry)
My brothers, my sisters (Na oyeli ide carry)
Make una loud am make dem hear (Na oyeli ide carry)
My brother make you tell Obasanjo make dem stop
All dis dem monsens (Na oyeli ide carry
Na oyeli ide carry (Na oyeli ide carry)
Na oyeli ide carry (Na oyeli ide carry)
Na oyeli ide carry (Na oyeli ide carry)
Na oyeli ide carry (Na oyeli ide carry)
The song "Na Oil" by Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 talks about the exploitation and corruption surrounding the oil industry in Nigeria. The opening lines address the fact that our parents brought us into this world through hard work and poi-making, a traditional Nigerian method of making cassava flour, but we now find ourselves in a society where we must work hard to succeed. The song emphasizes the struggle of the common man against the government and foreign oil companies who oppress the people and damage the environment.
The chorus, which repeats throughout the song, uses various Nigerian pidgin phrases to illustrate the frustration of the people. The phrases "dem star to feju" and "dem de tight face" both mean to become angry, while "dem de roju" means to become restless. The repetition of these phrases reflects the ongoing frustration felt by Nigerians towards those in power. The song also calls for people to come together and demand that those in positions of power listen to their voices.
Overall, "Na Oil" is a call to action for Nigerians to come together and fight against the exploitation and corruption in the oil industry, and demand change for a better future for their country and their people.
Line by Line Meaning
Your father and mother, dem make poi together
Your parents made poi together
Dem bring you for this world, you self start to de grow
They brought you into this world and you started to grow
You go school to read book, you no even go to school
You went to school to read books, but didn't actually attend
You de use your own talent, working hard to enjoy
You use your own talent and work hard to enjoy yourself
Everything you de do for yourself, ide give dem headache
Everything you do for yourself gives others headaches
You de try your best my brother, Edumare
You're doing your best, my brother
Things just de better my brother, that one na deep skin pain
Things are improving, but it still hurts
Dem star to feju (For house)
They start to frown (at home)
Dem de tight face (For road)
They have a tight face (on the road)
I say dem squez face (For work)
I say they squint their face (at work)
Dem de roju (For house)
They have a scowl (at home)
Sometimes dem feju (For road)
Sometimes they frown (on the road)
Dem de tight face (For work)
They have a tight face (at work)
Sometimes dem squez face (For house)
Sometimes they squint their face (at home)
Dem de roju (For road)
They have a scowl (on the road)
I go pu myself for your place (Seun put yourself for my place)
I will put myself in your shoes
I go put myself for your place (Seun put yourself for my place)
I will put myself in your shoes
I go put myself for your place I go shout (Na oyeli ide carry)
I will shout on your behalf
Edumare s'ongbo (Na oyeli ide carry)
May God listen (and carry your message)
Make una here me now (Na oyeli ide carry)
Listen to me now (and carry the message)
My brothers, my sisters (Na oyeli ide carry)
My brothers, my sisters (carry the message)
Make una loud am make dem hear (Na oyeli ide carry)
Make it loud so they can hear (and carry the message)
My brother make you tell Obasanjo make dem stop
My brother, tell Obasanjo to stop
All dis dem monsens (Na oyeli ide carry
All of these nonsense things (carry the message)
You be man my borther, you get your woman
As a man, you have a woman
You be woman my sister, you self get your man
As a woman, you have a man
Una poi together, orisirisi just dey happen sa
You make poi together, things happen (like that)
Una poi your child or pikin, working hard to make him someone
You make poi for your child, working hard to make them successful
You get food you no get, you go make sure he chop
If you have food and someone else doesn't, you make sure they eat
Dem si say ego better, dem want quench am for you
They see that you're doing well and they want to bring you down
Lyrics © LILI LOUISE MUSIQUE
Written by: TAJUDEEN ANIMASAHUN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind