Fela Kuti
Nigerian musician and activist (1938-1997) · Nigeria · On the map · Musicians · Died at 58
He invented Afrobeat - the fusion of West African rhythm with American funk and jazz that made him one of Africa's most charismatic performers and a sociopolitical voice that reached far beyond Nigeria.
Fela Kuti is read about 1,229 times a day, in 51 languages.
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Fela Anikulapo Kuti was born in 1938, son of women's rights activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. After time abroad, he and his band Africa '70 - anchored by drummer Tony Allen - shot to stardom in Nigeria during the 1970s, a decade when Kuti became an outspoken critic of the country's military juntas. In 1970 he founded the Kalakuta Republic commune, which declared itself independent from military rule. The army destroyed it in a 1977 raid that injured Kuti and killed his mother. The government of Muhammadu Buhari jailed him in 1984; he was released after 20 months. He continued to record and perform through the 1980s and 1990s. He died on 2 August 1997. In 2026, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
