24 HOURS of FELA KUTI

Monday Mayhem 28 2:AM to 2:AM Tuesday
Hosted by Ann Arbor w/ DJ Bobo Z and others

Fela Anikulapo Kuti saw no distinction between his art and his life. He drew from a lifetime of experiences both in his home country and abroad, as Western influences -- funk and Black Power -- merged with ancestral Yoruba traditions and music from Nigeria and Ghana. The eventual results were Afrobeat, and his development of a communal nation-state, the Kalakuta Republic. We'll look at Fela's development beginning with the transitional highlife-jazz of Koola Lobitos, and then add large doses of political activism and James Brown-style funk for his big bands Nigeria '70, Africa '70 and Egypt '80, often powered by his drummer of choice for 20 years, Tony Allen. We'll follow up with where Afrobeat has gone in the post-Fela era.