I ran into some Fela Kuti stuff today. Here's a thumbnail introduction to him, and what's behind his song "Expensive Shit", from a post I did a while back:
Fela spent some time in the US in the late 60's, where he was inspired by the Black Panthers and the Black Power movement. Soon after, he was deported and returned to Nigeria, bringing with him a new direction. He created his own compound that included a commune, a disco and a recording studio, took 27 wives and proclaimed his independence from the Nigerian state, which ultimately landed him on the government's shit list. A flagrant pothead, in 1974 Nigerian police planted a joint in his home to have an excuse to drag his ass in for a time-out. He ate the joint, thereby destroying the evidence. As if a scene from a Pink Panther movie, they brought him in anyway, to wait for the joint to pass. In the interim, he acquired a stool from another inmate, presented the joint-free duty, and was later released. Thumbing his nose at the authorities, he wrote a song about the incident, naming it, poignantly, "Expensive Shit."
Clip from Documentary Ginger Baker did in 1971 about his trip to Calabar, Nigeria.
Here's a few, including "Expensive Shit" and "Zombie" which I've posted in the past. Most of Fela's stuff runs long. The songs below run from eight to thirteen minutes. In all, there's an hour plus of music that you can clean to, do desk work to, drive to, exercise to, listen to when you're reading, when you're dancing, or when you're gettin' chummy with someone.
One last note: American Athlete has a lot of great African music, that can be found here. If you're into African music, you'll recognize some of the names; Mulatu Astatke, Tony Allen, Orlando Julius and (Daptone artists) the Daktaris. A lot of excellent stuff.
Fela spent some time in the US in the late 60's, where he was inspired by the Black Panthers and the Black Power movement. Soon after, he was deported and returned to Nigeria, bringing with him a new direction. He created his own compound that included a commune, a disco and a recording studio, took 27 wives and proclaimed his independence from the Nigerian state, which ultimately landed him on the government's shit list. A flagrant pothead, in 1974 Nigerian police planted a joint in his home to have an excuse to drag his ass in for a time-out. He ate the joint, thereby destroying the evidence. As if a scene from a Pink Panther movie, they brought him in anyway, to wait for the joint to pass. In the interim, he acquired a stool from another inmate, presented the joint-free duty, and was later released. Thumbing his nose at the authorities, he wrote a song about the incident, naming it, poignantly, "Expensive Shit."
Clip from Documentary Ginger Baker did in 1971 about his trip to Calabar, Nigeria.
Here's a few, including "Expensive Shit" and "Zombie" which I've posted in the past. Most of Fela's stuff runs long. The songs below run from eight to thirteen minutes. In all, there's an hour plus of music that you can clean to, do desk work to, drive to, exercise to, listen to when you're reading, when you're dancing, or when you're gettin' chummy with someone.
One last note: American Athlete has a lot of great African music, that can be found here. If you're into African music, you'll recognize some of the names; Mulatu Astatke, Tony Allen, Orlando Julius and (Daptone artists) the Daktaris. A lot of excellent stuff.
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Fela Kuti - Expensive Shit mp3 at Review StalkerFela Kuti and the Africa 70 - Who're You? mp3 at American Athlete
Fela Kuti and the Africa 70 - Question Jam Answer mp3 at American Athlete
Fela Kuti at Mister Follow Follow mp3 at the Cargo Culte
Fela Kuti - Zombie mp3 at Truants
This one gets a little jazzy:
Fela Kuti & Roy Ayers - 2000 Blacks Got to Be Free mp3 at American Athlete
Read:
How Fela Landed Me In Jail by John Barton at the New York Times
Fela Kuti at Wikipedia
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