Fela Kuti
The 50 Best Albums of 1972
Last year, when helping assemble SPIN‘s 50 Best Albums of 1971, I wondered if that year could have been popular music’s absolute peak. Now I’m asking myself that same question all over again. As I built a spreadsheet for 1972, gathering our writers’ votes alongside my own weird choices, I was once again struck by how many bronze-cast classics came out that year: LPs from David Bowie, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, The Allman Brothers Band, Yes, Stevie Wonder, Roxy Music, and on and on. Run down basically every genre – glam, soul, prog, art rock, Southern rock, metal, folk, MPB — and you’ll find the very best shit, whether eternally famous or sadly obscure. (My poor spreadsheet, swelling each day, originally had hundreds of worthy records. But you have to start chopping eventually.) Here’s wher...
Fela Kuti – Beasts of No Nation / Shakara (Oloje)
Fela Anikulapo Kuti, professionally known as Fela Kuti was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer, and most of, the pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre. Listening to Fela’s music is an absolute stress reliever but covering his discography is even more interesting, and that is why today we have selected these two tracks “Beasts Of No Nation” & “Shakara (Oloje)” by Fela Kuti for your listening ears. Visit www.allaroundnigeria.com for Latest News on Nigerian Politics, Entertainment, Celebrity Gossips, Metro News, Sports, Technology, Health, Education, Business, History, Facts and much more…. “Beasts of No Nation” is the first song Fela wrote in 1986, after he was liberated from prison—serving two years from a five year ...
Kingdom wins Nigerian Idol season 6
Kingdom Kroseide has emerged as the winner of the Nigerian Idol season 6. This was announced at the Grand Finale which held at the Africa Magic studios on Sunday. After audition months ago, Nigerian Idol produced 11 finalists – Faith Mac Ebiama, Comfort Alalade, Emmanuel Elijah, Clinton Francis, Beyonce Ajomiwe, Francis Atela, Dotun Deloye, Faith Onyeje, Akunna Okey, Daniel Ikechi, and Kingdom Kroseide. The two finalists to make it to the grand finale, Kingdom and Francis, have battled for the most-coveted title of the Nigerian Idol and Kingdom has emerged victorious. During the finale event, both finalists performed songs by Fela Kuti. While Francis sang ‘Yellow Fever’, Kingdom sang ‘Gentleman’. Artistes like Patoranking, Ayra Starr, and Ice Prince, performed at the final show, as Cobhams...
The 50 Best Live Albums of the 1970s
The concert industry exploded in the 1970s, and the live album, a stopgap project once reserved for only the biggest artists, became a compulsory ritual and a pivotal moment for many artists. Live albums captured legendarily loud bands like The Who and The Ramones in their natural element. Once obscure regional acts like Bob Seger, KISS and Cheap Trick exploded into the mainstream with live albums. The Band, The Stooges, and Velvet Underground put their final gigs on vinyl. Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young (as his ongoing archive series shows), and Jackson Browne recorded entire sets of new songs onstage. The Grateful Dead released several official live albums (and continue to do so) that only made fans want to bootleg shows on their own more. With the 50th anniversary of a landmark live album, Th...
Fela Misses Out On Rock N Rock Hall Of Fame Despite Huge Votes
Late Afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti has failed to make it to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame 2021 edition. The legend was part of the nominees shortlisted for the prestigious Hall Of Fame by the Rock and Roll Foundation in February. Following his nomination, popular afrobeat singers like Burna Boy, Davido, and R&B singer, Banky W held a massive campaign on social media soliciting for votes from Nigerians for the late star. The campaign had worked and Fela was at one point leading, however he would later drop to number 2 position which wasn’t quite bad. Surprisingly, He wasn’t part of the inductees as published by the foundation on May 12, when the list was unveiled. The induction ceremony is slated for October and Fela would have been the first Nigerian to enter the famous Hall Of Fame if h...
Made in Nigeria: The Grandson of Fela Kuti Upholds His Family’s Afrobeat Message
“A self-centered way of life will bring all of us down in the end,” Made Kuti sighs on “Different Streets,” the saddest funky track to come out in 2020. The song [a cut off his forthcoming solo album, For(e)ward] starts off on an invigorating note, with an Afrobeat rhythm driven by a pulsing riff. Kuti delivers a freeform alto sax solo and lays down thick layers of drums, playing all the instruments himself. But when he sings, the Nigerian musician sounds defeated. “We must now understand just how scary it is that we are facing the same problems from the ’70s,” he murmurs during a mid-song monologue, his voice low in the mix as he echoes the frustrations of his late, great grandfather, Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. CREDIT: Optimus Dammy Throughout Fo...
Orlando Julius – Jagua Nana
Orlando Julius Aremu Olusanya Ekemode, known professionally as Orlando Julius is a Nigerian saxophonist, singer, bandleader, and songwriter closely associated with afrobeat music. Julius began churning out breakbeat-laden singles in the early ’60s with his 10-piece band, the Modern Aces, and then in 1966 they birthed their first LP dubbed “Super Afro Soul” where he demonstrated his uncanny skills at bridging the Atlantic by mashing Latin percussion, high-life guitars, R&B horns and a nascent funk attack—all particularly showcased on “Ijo Soul“, a song strikingly similar to James Brown’s mega-hit “I Got You (I Feel Good).” Residing in Ibadan, Orlando used his orchestral prowess to attract musicians from all over, including one trumpet-wielding Fela Kuti. Fela, f...
Fela Kuti – Army Arrangement (LP)
Fela Anikulapo Kuti, professionally known as Fela Kuti was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician, band leader, composer, and most of, the pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre. Here is Fela’s 1985 released “Army Arrangement” LP with The Africa 70 Band. The song, “Army Arrangement” is about Nigeria’s attempt at ‘democracy’ in 1979 after more than a decade of military rule. In 1970, Nigeria emerged from a three-year Biafra civil war with the largest standing army in black Africa, no financial debts – careering along on at least two million barrels of sulphur-low oil, pumped daily into the world market. With such revenue invested prudently in the Nigerian economy, there should be no reason for any Nigerian to live below the poverty line. However...
