The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Felabration

  • Wole Soyinka attends ‘Felabration’

    Wole Soyinka attends ‘Felabration’

    Legendary playwright, Wole Soyinka made a surprise appearance at the finale of ‘Felabration’ last Sunday.

    A cousin of the late revolutionary African musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, in whose honour ‘Felabration’ is held every year, an excited Soyinka said; “I am happy to be here to celebrate Fela with everyone.”

    The literature professor who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986 is the first African to be honoured in that category.

    The festival which ran for seven days, at the New Afrika Shrine, was put together to celebrate the life and times of the great Fela Kuti.

    Other superstars like Sir Shina Peters, Adewale Ayuba, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Tekno, Adekunle Gold, Simi, Wande Coal and Runtown among others graced the Felabration 2017 stage.

    Also, backing ‘Felabration’ 2017 was Nigeria’s stout brand, Legend Extra Stout, which joined millions of Nigerians in the week-long musical event.

  • Felabration: Review of Fela’s top five songs

    Felabration: Review of Fela’s top five songs

    One of the most important musical and political figures to emerge in post-independence Nigeria, Fela Kuti was the legendary rebel and agent provocateur that pioneered Afrobeat, an invigorating hybrid of dirty funk and traditional African rhythms.

    No denial that Fela was a complex man that was equal parts shaman, showman and trickster, whose perpetual criticism of Nigeria’s governmental and religious figures made him a constant target.

    Later called Baba 70, Fela was one of a handful of exceptional individuals that forever changed our musical landscape.

    This is a guide to five of his voluminous recorded songs and the deep meanings of each of them.

    In view of Felabration, an annual music festival conceived in 1998 by Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti in memory and celebration of her father Fela Kuti, a Nigerian musician and human rights activist known for pioneering the afrobeat genre of music, take a look at five of Fela’s songs and their contributions to the new look of the musical landscape.

    1. “Zombie”

    Zombie was released in 1976 by Coconut Records and was immediately a success among the people. The song starts off strong with a rousing horn fanfare that holds the clue to the important message Fela delivers: the zombie he refers to, who does whatever he is told unthinkingly, is a soldier of the Nigerian Army.

    Fela was a provocateur, and his criticism of the Nigerian government made him a constant target. His revolutionary way of being was reflected in many aspects of his life. Fela had created a commune in his house, treated like an independent state, called the Kalakuta Republic.

    In Zombie, he narrates the military in motion comparing their orientation to the Zombie, without minds of their own (unfree). The soldiers are portrayed as brainless figures, brainwashed to do whatever higher authorities want.
    “Zombie no go think, unless you tell them to think.

    In the song, he said “Zombie no go think, unless you tell them to think”

    This bold condemnation of the military institution led to a raid in Kalakuta, and finally to his mother’s death. One thousand members of the Nigerian army attacked and burnt down his house after the release of the record. Fela was badly beaten, his records and instruments destroyed; tragically, his mother was taken and thrown from the second floor leading to fatal injuries.

    2. “Suffering and Smiling”

    Released in 1977, Fela describes the life of the average Nigerian who is constantly suffering, but smiling through the pain, believing in the rewards that await them in the afterlife due to the teachings of religious leaders, who themselves live the most lavish lives, enjoying the so-called earthly pleasures. He warns people to open their eyes to this injustice and stop being blind followers of religion.

    Things haven’t changed much today, as people still blindly follow religion (and religious leaders), without necessarily understanding its true meaning.

    3. “Suffer Head” must go

    “Suffer Head” is a masterpiece of the 1980s, released at a time when the living conditions of the poor masses were getting worse. He was able to put across graphically, the terrible living conditions of the working masses. Describing, among others, how “ten people sleep inside one small room” in the slums; how the transportation system was so bad that “my people are packed inside buses like sardines”; how water, food and light (electricity) were both lacking or grossly inadequate. He then linked these to the cynical nomenclature of underdeveloped nations.

    He further criticised the essence of the United Nations’ cynical programmes of “food-house-health etc., for all by the year 2000”. He tagged them programme of deceit. In conclusion, Fela made a revolutionary appeal that “suffer head must go! And J’eba head must come” (eba is a popular meal in Nigeria).

    4. “Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense”

    This was released in 1980, it highlights the fact that the white man seems to be living our lives for us, while they make their own decisions based on their culture and tradition. The white man, instead of condemning the bad leadership that goes on here, overlooks them while doing the exact opposite in their own countries.
    He condemns the so-called democracy and begs Africans to open their eyes and realize that they are being misled and stolen from.

    Today, instead of drawing away from the chains of colonialism, we still rely on foreign countries to help us make some of our major decisions and try to imitate every aspect of their lives, forgetting our cultures and traditions in the process.

    5. “Army Arrangement”

    Released in 1985, this piece of music revealed the mismanagement of the economy by the past regimes in Nigeria, both military and civilian governments alike.

    It exposed their methods of thievery, among others. It similarly showed that nothing good could come out of the then civilian rule, which he claimed correctly was to come about with the participation of the “same old politicians who ruled (ruined) and spoiled Nigeria before.”

    The album was a revelation of the inherent class links between the military Generals and the civilian wing (so-called ‘political class’) of the ruling capitalist class.

  • 2017 ‘Felabration’ kicks off at Notting Hill Carnival

    2017 ‘Felabration’ kicks off at Notting Hill Carnival

    Although some last minute hitches affected the ‘first class’ celebration of Felabration 2017 at the Notting Hill Carnival, Chairman Felabration Organisisng Committee, Theo Lawson, has thanked fans, supporters and well-wishers for turning out for the event.

    The debut of Felabration at Notting Hill Carnival opened the 2017 edition of the festival, with support from Lagos State government.

    “Despite the most sincere and labour intensive efforts of Felabration to deliver a first-class quality production to London @ the Notting Hill Carnival 2017, our official U.K. Delivery partner failed to secure the license required for the event @Emslie Horniman PLeasance Park,” said Lawson.

    “Felabration apologises for this. Felabration participated in the Carnival parade and wishes to thank all its fans, supporters, well-wishers and friends that came out to see us.”

    2017 marks 20 years that Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the founder of Afrobeat and a social and political activist died. And this year’s Felabration , a festival created by his daughter, Yeni Kuti, to celebrate her father, has as its theme, ‘The Prophecy.’

    The main Felabration festival is scheduled to hold in Lagos from October 9 to October 15, 2017 and will feature concerts, symposium and debates in addition to new additions such as tourist packages to Fela’s life spaces, Felabration Afrobics Dance Competition, Felabration Artwork Competition and international versions of Felabration across different cities of the world.

    The Fela Symposium with the topic, ’20 years after Festac, 20 years after Fela; wither the Pan African dream?’ will have Kenyan professor Patrice L.O Lumumba as the speaker. For the secondary school debate, five private secondary schools (Dowen College, Cayley College, Kings College, Vivian Fowler and Apata Memorial College) and five public secondary schools (Vetland Grammar School, Oke-Odo Senior Secondary School, Wesley Girls Senior Secondary School, Ogudu Senior Secondary School and Epe Girls Senior Secondary School) will slug it out with the topic, ‘African History; Curriculum Necessity or Not.’

  • Felabration and a governor’s inaction

    Felabration and a governor’s inaction

    We have been prostrating to Ogun State government for the past how many years,” Yeni  Kuti told the world on August 2 at a press conference to unveil the  2017 Felabration programme.  “They have not answered us. We’ve been there to see the governor. He has promised heaven and earth. In fact, we are still on prostration level. They have not answered us. The ancestral home, we visited with the architects. We’ve done a design, proposals, everything. We asked them (Ogun State) to be part of this (Felabration) but they said they can’t be part of it with Lagos State, that we must start it in Abeokuta. Two, three years ago, we had done the whole arrangement to start Felabration in Abeokuta, they did not answer us. But hopefully now, they will answer. We hope that Ogun State will come on board.”

    Indeed, this is a significant time for the Ogun State government to play a noteworthy role to further immortalise Afrobeat phenomenon Fela Anikulapo Kuti who died 20 years ago on August 2, 1997, at the age of 58.  This year’s Felabration, according to the organisers, is “a special tribute festival.” The yearly celebration of Fela’s legacy is applaudable. It is interesting that this 20th edition is tagged “Prophecy, ‘suggesting Fela’s prophetic power.

    From October 9 to 15, a chain of cultural activities in Lagos will celebrate the life and times of the larger-than-life musical idol.  The venues include the New Africa Shrine, Freedom Park and Kalakuta Museum. Although his remains lie in an inventive tomb on the grounds of his former residence on Gbemisola Street, Ikeja, which is now Kalakuta Museum, Fela’s spirit soars beyond the restriction of the grave.

    The striking picture of inaction painted by Yeni, Fela’s daughter, was repeated by Nike Nedum, Fela’s niece and daughter of Dr Beko Ransome- Kuti, when the Felabration Organising Committee met the press.

    Nike said:”Ogun State’s priority seems to have been building roads and not necessarily in developing its tourism industry. And they seemed to be very keen three, four years back but didn’t follow through. We evicted all the people who were living in the house and you would have seen in the press lately that we have faced a lot of criticisms about how the house has deteriorated. It was largely because we were preparing it to create a museum in honour of members of the Ransome-Kuti family. They seem to suggest that they may still be interested but we haven’t seen them in real terms. But we as a family gather the resources that we can put in place to try and preserve and start the process of making it a spot that people can go to and we as Nigerians can feel proud of.”

    It is understandable that the Felabration Organising Committee is interested in getting the Ogun State government interested in celebrating Fela. The music superstar had deep roots in Abeokuta, the present-day Ogun State capital. Fela was born in Abeokuta on 15 October, 1938. His father, Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, was “an Anglican priest and school principal” and “the first president of the Nigeria Union of Teachers.” His   mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was “a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement.” His brothers, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti and Beko Ransome-Kuti, both medical doctors, were notables. There is no doubt that the Ransome-Kuti family has its roots in Abeokuta, which explains why it makes sense to ask the Ogun State government to be involved in celebrating Fela, who brought glory to the city  through his global stardom.

    The Lagos State government should be applauded for its role in celebrating Fela. The great musician lived in Lagos and died in Lagos. The Lagos State government supported the renovation of Fela’s base, Kalakuta Republic in Ikeja, which is now a museum in honour of the legend. It is worth mentioning that Felabration, according to the organisers, “is an official tourist destination of The Lagos State Government.” They described the government as “major sponsors of the event.”

    Yeni said: “Governor Ambode, I’ve never met him but he has stated his commitments through email to say he is part of Felabration this year and in fact they are sponsoring the Notting Hill Carnival. We’re going to take a float with Fela as the main theme. We will have a Fela puppet where everybody will dress like Fela’s queens and would drive through the streets of London for the Nigerians in Diaspora.”

    Here is a picture of Notting Hill Carnival: “The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event that has taken place in London since 1966 on the streets of Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, each August over two days (the August bank holiday Monday and the preceding Sunday). It is led by members of the British West Indian community, and attracts around one million people annually, making it one of the world’s largest street festivals, and a significant event in British culture. In 2006, the UK public voted it onto the list of icons of England.”  This international dimension is worth celebrating because Fela was an internationally recognised performer.

    Fela was not just a musician but a musical icon with a sense of mission. His AIDS-related death meant that a critical progressive voice had been silenced. It is a point to ponder how he would have reacted to Nigeria’s renewed democratic experience that began in 1999, about two years after his death. His unapologetic activism on the side of the people was daring and defiant; and he was willing to pay the price for his anti-establishment campaign. Music was indeed a weapon for him, and he used it against the enemies of progress with all the potency of a visionary iconoclast.

    There is no doubt that the country has what it takes to become a prominent cultural tourism destination; and there is also no doubt that the country lacks what it takes to be such an attraction. Of course, tourism development has a price tag. There are important infrastructural minuses that need to be tackled by the authorities to realise the dream of a tourism-friendly and tourist-friendly destination. What about basic things like power and water?  What about good roads and good environment?  What about security, and law and order?  Festivals and festivities grow to global status through tourism-friendly policies and cannot be imposed on the tourism market. But dreaming is a good starting point; the next thing is working to make the dream come true.

    Felabration has pulling power. It is this pulling power that the Ogun State government is expected to recognise and appreciate by supporting the celebration.

  • FELABRATION 2017: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AFROBEAT AND AFROBEATS COME TO FORE AGAIN

    AHEAD of this year’s edition of Felabration scheduled to hold between October 9 and October 15, 2017, the debate between Afrobeat created by the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Afrobeats which refers to popular music by Nigerian and other African hip hop artistes continue to rage. But this difference does not just lie in the ‘S.’

    At the press conference to announce activities to mark Felabration 2017 which has as its theme, ‘The Prophecy’, the debate came up again with Fela’s daughter, Yeni Kuti, saying that Afrobeats is nothing but hip hop.

    But Yeni said; “For me, Afrobeat is Afrobeat. Hip hop is hip hop. I call it Naija Afro pop. They call it Afrobeats.”

    “The work that goes into the composition of Afrobeat is very different to the work that goes into the composition of hip hop. I’m sorry I can’t call it Afrobeats. I love the music but I have to call it Nigeria afro pop. Please, that’s the difference.”

    Yeni also added that she always corrected this anytime she has the opportunity.

    “When they (Trace) interviewed me, I told them it’s not Afrobeats ooo. It’s Nigeria Afro pop. I always make sure I tell them because Fela has given me a few knocks because of this matter.”

    However, Trace Nigeria managing director, Sam Onyemelukwe, said that no one denies that Fela founded Afrobeat.

    “You cannot speak about Afrobeats without acknowledging and I don’t think anybody tries to speak about Afrobeats without acknowledging the roots of it to be Fela himself.”

    Onyemelukwe who disclosed his station is set to air a documentary on the evolution of Afrobeat titled ‘Nigeria To The World’ said: “The fact is that a huge population around the world are calling our new strain of music coming out of young Nigerians Afrobeats. And we have chosen to interpret that in a positive way while acknowledging very clearly and repeatedly the difference between Afrobeat and the fact that the world is now calling Wizkid and Tecno songs as Afrobeats. You know that the tag line of our channel is ‘we love Afrobeats.’ And we’ll continue to highlight that difference. What we don’t want is for the youths, the young movement of music to lose the power of what Afrobeat is, what people make that connection to.”

    Onyemelukwe also said the documentary would give some of Fela’s offsprings – Yeni, Femi and Seun – an opportunity to air their opinions. Onyemelukwe however said during an interview, Femi Kuti said he “has agreed that we can also use Afrobeat as long as we acknowledge the root.”

    Yeni however, held on to her view and said she’ll have to call Femi about it.

    Adding his voice to the debate, Dr Dotun Ransome Kuti said, “the music being played today, whetehr we like it or not, has its origin from Afrobeat. It is not oyinbo style. It is African style and that African style has to originate from somewhere.”

    He continued explaining that, “and from Afroobeat, you have Afrojazz, you have Afropop, you have also Afro-highlife. Everything came from Afrobeat. And that Afrobeat was created by Fela Anikulapo Kuti.”

  • Felabration 2017 comes with ‘The Prophecy’

    Felabration 2017 comes with ‘The Prophecy’

    Twenty years after the death of founder of Afrobeat, Fela Anikulapo Kuti on August, 2, 1997, Felabration, the festival instituted to honour him by his daughter, Yeni Kuti, is set to be celebrated with a bang.

    Addressing a press conference at the Kalakuta Musuem in Lagos on Wednesday, the chairman of the organising committee, Theo Lawson, disclosed that this year’s Felabration, scheduled to hold between October 9 and October 15, 2017, and tagged ‘The Prophecy’ will incorporate the usual segments of concerts, symposium and debates in addition to new additions such as tourist packages to Fela’s life spaces, Felabration Afrobics Dance Competition, Felabration Artwork Competition and international versions of Felabration across different cities of the world.

    This year, the Fela Symposium with the topic, ’20 years after Festac, 20 years after Fela; wither the Pan African dream?’ will have Kenyan professor Patrice L.O Lumumba as the speaker. For the secondary school debate, five private secondary schools (Dowen College, Cayley College, Kings College, Vivian Fowler and Apata Memorial College) and five public secondary schools (Vetland Grammar School, Oke-Odo Senior Secondary School, Wesley Girls Senior Secondary School, Ogudu Senior Secondary School and Epe Girls Senior Secondary School) will slug it out with the topic, ‘African History; Curriculum Necessity or Not.’

    The festival will be rounded off on October 15, 2017 with a major concert at the Afrika Shrine. And with an abundance of local artistes already lined up to perform, Kenyan superstar, Sauti Sol is expected to grace the Felabration stage. Other international artistes are yet to be confirmed.

    Lawson who also disclosed that Felabration has been added to the list of the top 300 festivals across the world, also announced that a tourist package is already in place for visitors to experience Fela in his life’s spaces spanning from Abeokuta, Ogun State to various spaces in Lagos State where he had his club (The Shrine) as well as his residence (Kalakuta). There are also plans for a ‘Dress Like Fela Day’ and also a street carnival to be held at Gbemisola Street, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos.

    Lawson, disclosed that this year’s Felabration will also hold in different venues aside the Afrika Shrine and Freedom Park in Lagos. In the country, activities to mark Felabration would hold in Ibadan, Abuja and also Uyo while internationally, Ghana, Benin Republic, Argentina, Japan, Budapest, New York and India will play host to late Afrobeat legend.

    Also, with the sponsorship of Lagos State government, Felabration will be going to Notting Hill Carnival, London which holds later in the year.

    Fela, a world-class musician, social critic and political activist was born on October 15, 1938 and he died on August 2, 1997.

  • Felabration as cerebration

    Music is the weapon of the future.” Who said this? Where and when? Afrobeat phenomenon Fela Anikulapo Kuti made this definitional declaration when I interviewed him in December 1996, seven months before his death at the age of 58 on August 2, 1997. It was perhaps Fela’s last major interview, and I rank my interaction with the music legend among the high points of my journalism career.

    How did I get to interview the great one? I was Features Editor, Today’s News Today (TNT), an ambitious Lagos-based evening newspaper, and the organisers of a series of Fela renaissance concerts tagged Fela Don Come O had chosen the medium for publicity purposes ahead of a planned show on Boxing Day at Lekki, Lagos. The first show at Water Parks, Ikeja, Lagos, was inadequately publicised, the organisers had reasoned. So they came to TNT’s Oregun office to arrange an exclusive interview with Fela that would run for two days as a publicity stunt to draw a crowd.

    Naturally, I was over the moon about the job. I had a partner for the interview in the person of Akintunde Ojo, now deceased, who was the paper’s entertainment expert at the time. For several days before the interview, we prepared and kept reviewing our preparation. On the eve of the date, we had to consult one of Fela’s aides for some guidance on the kind of questions that would hold his interest.

    We watched Fela’s pulsating performance at his club, the Afrika Shrine, on Pepple Street, Ikeja, till the show ended just before dawn; and then the maestro sat down with us for an interview that lasted about three hours. If there were signs that he was battling with symptoms of a grave illness, we didn’t notice. He had stopped playing the saxophone on account of some challenges, but he boasted to us that he would one day start playing the instrument again. He made us laugh, he made us think, he made us wonder, and he made us feel we were capable of great things.

    After the session, he left the club in a waiting taxi, which was a thought-provoking statement about his diminished financial resources despite his undiminished stardom. The interviewers went away inspired by the magical meeting and the unforgettable encounter.

    There is no doubt that Fela’s AIDS-related death meant that a critical progressive voice had been silenced. He was not just a musician but a musical icon with a sense of mission. It is a point to ponder how he would have reacted to Nigeria’s renewed democratic experience that began in 1999, about two years after his death. His unapologetic activism on the side of the people was daring and defiant; and he was willing to pay the price for his anti-establishment campaign. Music was indeed a weapon for him, and he used it against the enemies of progress with all the potency of a visionary iconoclast.

    My reflections on Fela were prompted by Felabration 2016.  The yearly celebration of Fela’s legacy is applaudable. It is interesting that this year’s concert, the 19th edition, was tagged ‘Everybody say yeah yeah’, a catchphrase popularised by Fela. From October 6 to 16, Fela came alive again in more ways than one. Although his remains lie in an inventive tomb on the grounds of his former residence on Gbemisola Street, Ikeja, which is now Kalakuta Museum, Fela’s spirit soars beyond the restriction of the grave.

    Fela’s enduring relevance is reinforced by the country’s current unhealthy condition. The country’s sickness did not begin today, and Fela sang several songs about the deterioration.  I remember his song titled Authority Stealing. Fela sang: “Authority stealing pass armed robbery.”

    An October 21 report justified Fela’s insightful lyrics. This alarming report based on information released by the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) said: “In its report of activities from August 2015 to July 2016 presented to civil society organisations (CSOs) by its Executive Secretary Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye during an interactive session in Abuja yesterday, PACAC said corruption brought Nigeria to its knees under Jonathan. The report says: “His (Jonathan’s) tolerance of corruption was reflected in the sunset of activities of anti-corruption agencies under his watch and exponential increase of other vices no doubt fuelled by corruption.”

    PACAC continued: “For example, it is widely believed that insecurity escalated because of the massive embezzlement of $2 billion through the Office of the National Security Adviser under the leadership of Col. Sambo Dasuki, who allegedly diverted the money appropriated to fight insurgency. The problems in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry reached the zenith with multi-billion dollars subsidy scams while President Jonathan looked the other way. At the same time, other vices spread like cancer – kidnapping, import duty waivers, financial recklessness, a profligate legislature, corrupt judiciary, etc. There was no single high-profile conviction under his watch, yet there were allegations of high-profile corruption within his cabinet. Jonathan’s legendary comment that stealing is not corruption underscored his perspective on corruption and remains a watershed in the history of anti-corruption crusade in Nigeria. Under his watch, corruption brought Nigeria to its knees.”

    Now,  the most chilling aspect of the report, which highlights the scale of stealing by people in power and the  consequences of ‘Authority Stealing’:  “PACAC said using World Bank rates, one-third of the N1.3trillion allegedly stolen by only 55 people in seven years could have provided 635.18 kilometres of roads, built 36 ultra-modern hospitals in each state, built and furnished 183 schools, educated 3,974 people from primary to tertiary level (at N25.2 million per child) and built 20,062 units of two-bedroom houses.”

    This picture makes it so easy to see why Fela sang that political corruption is more terrible and more terrorising than armed robbery. This is why Fela remains relevant. His lyrics are undying in a country dying from corruption.

  • Femi Kuti, estranged wife shock fans at Felabration

    Femi Kuti, estranged wife shock fans at Felabration

    It was a sight for sore eyes at Felabration 2016 a few days ago when afrobeats maestro, Femi Kuti, and his estranged wife, Funke Kuti, set aside lingering animosity to engage each other in series of hugs on the red carpet to the applause of everyone present. As they celebrated together, onlookers were reminded of the days when the going was good between the son of the late afrobeat exponent, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and the one-time love of his life.

    Femi and Funke were two of the hottest couples in town until their marriage hit the rocks. The two got separated 10 years ago in a much-publicised incident, but the divorce papers did not arrive until a couple years ago. It was reliably gathered that the two have since decided to bury the hatchet for the sake of their son, Made, and are now best of friends. Their fans and admirers have, however, not given up hope that the two will somehow get back together as a couple.

    Funke certainly isn’t doing anything to discourage them as she took to posting some pictures of her and Femi together on social media.

  • Felabration starts today with secondary school debate

    Felabration starts today with secondary school debate

    Felabration, the annual week-long festival to celebrate late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti will kicks off today with a secondary schools debate. It holds by 10am at Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos.

    The debate with the topic, Reparation, Yes or No, will see students from Lagos State secondary schools slugging it out with one another.

    The festival proper then continues from October 10 with a symposium tagged Movement Against 2nd Slavery, at the NECA House, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos. While speakers include Ms Afiong Afiong, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, Lemi Gharioku and Adebola Williams, the event will be chaired by Mrs Sofia Oyewole.

    The festivities continue till October 16 with musical concerts by various musicians at the New Africa Shrine, Agidingbi, Lagos daily. The carnival holds in Ikeja on October 15.

  • AFRIMA, AU partner Felabration, congratulate KSA at 70

    AFRIMA, AU partner Felabration, congratulate KSA at 70

    The International Committee of the All Africa Music Awards and the African Union Commission, AUC, has announced it partnership with 2016 edition of Felabration, the annual festival to celebrate late Afrobeat creator, Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

    The decision to support the 2016 edition of Felabration with the theme, Everybody Say Yeah Yeah was reached last week when daughter of late music legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Ms Yeni Kuti, visited the AFRIMA Secretariat in Lagos.

    Felabration kicks off on Wednesday, October 5, 2016 with Secondary Schools Debate while the week-long festivities start on Monday, October 10, 2016. The topic for the debate is “Reparation: Yes or No?”

    AFRIMA’s Associate Producer, Ms Adenrele Niyi, disclosed AFRIMA’s support for the Felabration, especially the secondary schools debate.

    “There’s no better way to begin this partnership with Felabration than through the school debate for secondary school students in Lagos State,” said Ms Niyi.

    “It creates the perfect platform for the AFRIMA Foundation to purse her Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in Lagos State, the 2016 Official Host City for AFRIMA through our CSR initiative, Educate-A-Child (Our Voice).”

    She said that AFRIMA will reward participating schools and winners with prizes.

    “Our goal is to encourage young people that education is rewarding and to show that learning will help them understand and take pride in their cultural heritage,” Ms Niyi said. Fela Kuti won the 2014 AFRIMA Legend Award.

    Thanking AFRIMA and AU for hosting this edition’s debate, Yeni Kuti said, “We want to keep Fela’s love of culture and learning alive among young people.”

    Fela Kuti, a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer and pioneer of Afrobeat music, was born on 15 October 1938 and died on August 2, 1997.

    Also, in a statement, AFRIMA congratulated juju music maestro King Sunny Ade on clocking 70 years last Thursday and recognised the contributions of the Ondo State born artiste whose real name is Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye, for making juju music globally accepted especially with its lyrics and instrumentations.

    “King Sunny Ade has proved to be an icon of hope, a representation of what African stands for in its rich cultural heritage and the need to bring on board, the old and modern genre of music without causing confusion,” said Mr. Mike Dada, AFRIMA’s Executive Producer.

    “We see him as a legend whose lyrics and beats stand the test of time and still remain relevant in the contemporary music world.”

    According to AFRIMA, it recognised the many achievements of KSA, as he is fondly called. KSA, whose album, Odu, was nominated for a Grammy in 1998, is also the first African to be nominated twice for the Grammys. He was the first Nigerian to have a collaboration with American music star, Stevie Wonder for his album, Aura and aside being appointed a visiting professor of music at the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, KSA was also inducted into the Afropop Hall of Fame at the Brooklyn African Festival in the US.

    AFRIMA 2016 grand awards ceremony holds on Sunday, November 6 at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos while the Africa Music Business Summit and the AFRIMA Music Village, an open concert-style festival featuring nominees and other top billed music stars, hold on Friday, November 4.