Episode 6 Recap: Femi Kuti

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August 1, 2016 8:41 AM

Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti was born in London and raised in Lagos. Aged 15, Femi had already started playing the saxophone, and he later joined his father’s band.

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His musical life was predominantly Afrobeat - the style involves a fusion of Jazz, chants, rhythms, and funk. The style requires a large band with various instruments, vocalists, and funky horn sections.

His music was aimed at creating conscious awareness to the issues that seemed to affect the African continent; his songs aimed to awaken people into realizing their efforts and the need to have peaceful coexistence;

“The title, “No place for my dream” is just a reflection of my thoughts. I want justice, I want peace, and I’d love to see love everywhere. We live in a place where there’s corruption, wars, terrorism, so there’s no place for that kind of dream. This is the reality we live in.”

With the growth of his fame all over the world, his political influence was increased as his voice seems to resonate the feelings of the common citizen of whichever country, his music reached many audiences as it aired the concerns of the citizens.

“The album is supposed to give you motivation and courage. To keep on fighting. As much as I say, there’s no place for my dream. We can’t sit back and accept injustice.

“We can’t sit back and say Africa should go down. We can’t sit back and see poverty. We can’t sit back and let corruption be. The essence of life is to become a better human being.”

His fame saw him collaborate with other renowned musicians, and hence bridged the gap between the African musicians and western musicians;

“So I seized the opportunity to build a bridge between Africa and America. Now you see lots of Nigerians coming to America working together. This has been made easy because of a lot of the ground work I did.”

He advises that the everyday life should not be a source of pain or pressure. The need to eradicate fear from one’s life is important in achieving dreams;

“I still have nightmares. When I see the green uniform, soldiers and police in riots your heart skips a beat. It took me years and years and years to develop no fear.”

His exploits as a musician and as an activist have earned him a place among the great sons of Africa.

This is a feature by EbonyLife TV.

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