Twenty-seven years after his death, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the creator of Afrobeat music, still gets a million or more YouTube plays each month, and from all corners of the world. His enormous catalogue of recordings is being reissued for the third time, in deluxe vinyl box set editions. He has been the subject of books, films, seminars, podcasts, and a Broadway musical.

Bands playing Afrobeat music, extending and honoring Fela’s work, exist in towns and cities around the globe. And a new generation of contemporary African musicians are eagerly sampling his tracks. What is it about Fela’s sound and message that makes them so enduring?

This discussion will zero in on the unique political circumstances and diasporic influences that led to the crystallization of Fela’s Afrobeat in the 1970s. His merger of Yoruba rhythms, highlife, jazz improvisation, and funk was a product of his rigorous intellectual upbringing, his schooling in music in London, and his radicalization during a stay in Los Angeles in 1969-70. All these factors and more went into the large, orchestral sound and elaborate, lengthy arrangements that Fela, by the end of his career, called “African classical music.”

As important as Fela’s innovative sound is his message. No African musician, and few musicians of any time or place, have shown such courage and risked so much to call out official wrongdoing, sadly a rich topic in Nigerian political and economic history. One reason that young Nigerians today continue to revere this artist decades after his death is because so many of Fela’s memorable lyrics still ring true today.

Speaking of young musicians, the past 20 years have seen the rise of the most internationally successful African music ever, and as fate would have it—thanks to a Ghanaian DJ in the UK, DJ Abrantee—this new music has become known as Afrobeats - with an “s.” Aside from the inevitable confusion this genre name has created, there is also a lively debate as to whether this generation of artists - Wizkid, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Rema, Davido, Ayra Starr, and others - have any business linking their work to that of the monumental figure that is Fela Kuti.

Is their music as innovative? Are their messages as strong and timeless? Are they corrupted by the fact that many come from money resulting from the very corruption Fela condemned, and many benefit from corporate sponsorship giving them little incentive to take risks as Fela did. And yet, Afrobeats is a fact on the ground. It is the music of the moment across the African continent and far beyond.

The panel will consider the legacy of Fela in the era of Afrobeats concluding what is sure to be a probing, fascinating, and timely conversation about the status of popular musicians in the 21st century.

Fela was a complex person who was always searching. At times his actions and words stirred controversy beyond, even among those close to him. This discussion seeks to illuminate the man, not to resolve his contradictions.

“The more the people are organized, the better” - Fela

MFM strongly believes that the time has come for African stars to advocate social justice for the African continent on and off stage, as Fela did. Africa needs more musician activists to continue the mission to achieve political and social change in Africa.

About MFM (https://www.MusiciansForMusicians.org) 

MFM seeks to bring together musicians from all disciplines, styles, traditions, and localities in the cause of their mutual self-betterment. Whether through education, networking, or political action, MFM's goal is to elevate the work of all musicians to the level of a true profession.