Seun Kuti’s 'Na Dem' is an expansive Afrobeat exploration of Conscience, Liberty, and Ease (Review)

Adeayo Adebiyi 16:58 - 11 November 2026

A review of Seun Kuti & the Egypt 80's album 'Na Dem'

As one of Nigeria and Africa’s most vocal musicians, Seun Kuti has long used his Afrobeat drums, piercing horns, and lyrical compass to address issues affecting the everyday man.

On his latest project, ‘Na Dem’, he explores Nigeria’s current sociopolitical landscape alongside a misplaced global moral compass. The Grammy-nominated icon points the finger at the forces robbing the common man of a decent life, while employing soaring notes and swinging drums to spread hope and share delight on a project that captures his artistic range and the pop utility of his Afrobeat.

Like a musical prophet fully abreast of the hurt of his people, Kuti leads his band, Egypt 80, in a prayer on the album opener, ‘Adara’, sharing a message of hope and prosperity for the common man. “Adara fun wa,” he sings, aligning himself with the people over cool jazz horns paired with drums that unite the masses from the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos to the streets of Brooklyn. In this prayer, he calls out the greed and corruption of the economic elite and political class, demanding that they return the commonwealth to be shared equitably.

The musicality of the album captures Kuti’s Afropolitan approach as he blends rap flows, African folk drums, and revolutionary jazz horns to restate the need for originality. On ‘Real Life’, he switches from rap flows to melodies while maintaining an equal level of aggression, taking jabs at fake celebrity lifestyles, the deep state, and global wokeism. “I just want that real life,” he sings angrily—not merely for himself, but for a world lost in destructive performativeness, which he addresses with barely concealed disgust.

Seun Kuti [Instagram/BigBirdKuti]

The drums accelerate into a soukous pattern, and the music lifts a notch to match Kuti’s marijuana haze on ‘Problems’, where he reflects on the transience and hardships of life. While the playful quips and sexual innuendo of the opening lines demonstrate that he does not always take himself too seriously, the remainder of the track reveals his duality as he philosophises on life’s endless challenges before concluding that he requires an outlet to de-stress, even if it is considered a vice. Grammy-winning Rastafarian Kabaka Pyramid delivers a fitting verse that unites the spiritual and mentally stimulating sounds of Afrobeat and reggae.

Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 turn to soul on ‘Devil Just Busy’, where he ponders the evil roaming the world and corrupting human minds and institutions. “It’s not okay,” he cries out against the normalisation of evil over a clean beat that leaves listeners anticipating a boom-bap rap verse. He returns to classic Afrobeat on the title track, ‘Na Dem’, once again aligning with the common man to face off against the political, economic, and social elite in a battle of good versus evil. His use of Pidgin English and blend of Yoruba lyrics combine with Tom Morello’s swashbuckling guitar solo to deliver the strongest track on the project.

Kuti’s brand of Afrobeat has always embraced other genres, from hip-hop to Afropop. He has previously dazzled alongside Janelle Monáe’s creative fluidity, Black Thought’s conscious rap, Fireboy’s pop melodies, and Odumodublvck’s highlife fusion. He continues to expand his musical worldview on ‘As How’, exploring gyration, Nigeria’s revolutionary and morale-boosting style, to rally the masses to fight for their rights.

While ‘Na Dem’ demonstrates Seun Kuti’s ability to operate across different musical worlds, it also categorically captures where he stands: firmly with the masses whose plight he shares across borders, to whom he offers a message of hope, and whom he rallies to stand up and fight for their rights.