Afrobeat musician really hated Fela because he just left him on his own

"My father just put me out there and said ‘find your way’ and I really hated him for doing that,” Femi said in an interactive session with The Guardian.

He further said: “My life was very tough. I still try to understand why my father did that…but I cannot risk that with my children because I could have ended up anywhere.”

The Afrobeat musician who spoke about why his son was getting formal music training insists that he couldn't allow his son go through what he went through as the son of Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

“He (Made) has to do it right for two reasons, because of the mindset of Nigerians. I don’t want him to go through what I went through. Because when I was growing up, my father was trained, I wasn’t trained. Coming out [people had] every reason not to support me, you still find [that] kind of people. I don’t want any of my children to experience what I did.

“My father was trained so he had the ability to twist the sound to his wish. It’s like magic, he could do anything. When I’m doing anything, I struggle to do it [but I succeed.]”

Possible similarities between Made's music style and Fela's music style

Femi Kuti's son, Made is currently receiving the formal training from his father, Fela had as well the street training, which the legendary singer had.

When queried if this will see some sort of similarities in Made's style of music and Fela's style of music, Femi said, “His music cannot be like Fela, his music cannot be like mine and it will probably take many generations to understand where he is coming from.”

ALSO READ:Femi Kuti releases 10th album "One People, One World"

Advice to young musicians

Femi has advised young Nigerian musicians to ensure they pick up a musical instrument and learn how to play it effectively.

“I will advice young people to pick up a musical instrument. Because when they get to my age, they will probably be very surprised if they are irrelevant.

“The reason Fela is great is not just because of his compositions, he studied music. Music is as important as studying medicine, music was never about fame, fortune and all those things. Music is like medicine and if the composer doesn’t realise that, he already has failed,” Femi said.

Femi Kuti has released his 10th album titled “One People, One World.” on Sunday, February 23, 2018, via his record label, Knitting Records.