Femi Kuti

Legendary activist and Afrobeat originator, Fela Kuti, used his music to lament social injustices and political corruption in his native Nigeria. Fela’s legacy spans decades and genres, touching on jazz, pop, funk, hip-hop, rock, and beyond. While this impact can be felt in Nigeria and the entire world, it also greatly affected Fela’s son Femi and his son Made, both of whom carry his legacy as torchbearers for change. On February 5th, Partisan Records will release two albums from Femi and Made, packaged together and appropriately titled ‘Legacy +’.

Throughout his career, Femi Kuti, eldest son of Fela, has sought to establish his own musical identity while being the torchbearer (along with his younger brother Seun) of his late father's legacy. That truth can be easily envisaged on the cover of No Place for My Dream, where a woman is walking with a basket on her head through an enormous field of garbage. Recorded in Paris, the album sticks close to the heart of Afro-beat, but Kuti, infuses the music with Latin, African-American, and Caribbean sounds as well. The message is the message. Kuti has no choice but to deliver it song after song - "Nothing to Show for It," "No Work No Job No Money," "Politics Na Big Business," etc. all speak truth to the power of oppression The righteous indignation is everywhere, presented in beautifully written tunes orchestrated by himself and Positive Force's bandleader/guitarist Opeyemi Awomolo.

Afrobeat’s rise to common musical currency has been mercurial during the last 5 years as dance music producers embrace more complex Afro rhythms and original West African pioneers like Fela Kuti and Tony Allen receive their dues. Featuring new hip hop from Ty alongside seminal house beats from Masters At Work and ultra-funky original music from Nigeria and Ghana courtesy of Fela Kuti, highlife God E.T. Mensah and more. 2 CD collection of 29 tracks then hits the groove straight away with Aslhley Beadle’s ‘Afrikans On Marz’ mix of Femi Kuti’s ‘Beng Beng Beng’, next up the classic Dennis Ferrer track ‘Funu’ which then leads us to a nicely different track with Tony Allen’sAfrobeat mix of Gigi’s ‘Gudfella’. So many more I could pick out too including DJ Food ‘Dub Lion’ and Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo De Cotonou Benin’s ‘Houe Towe Houn’. Suffice to say this does the job big time.