popular parent, but for Femi Kuti, whatever he has
achieved today, he has worked hard for it. His father’s
influence was key though, but Femi deserves
everything he has in music today.
Award winning Femi Kuti, eldest son of legendary Afro
beat pioneer Fela Kuti, says Afro beat is growing in
leaps and bounds in several parts of the world despite
its seeming gradual death in Nigeria.
“Afro beat can never die, maybe in Nigeria, but in
America, there are over forty to fifty bands; in New
York alone there are over 20 bands; it exists in Japan,
Australia, San Francisco and other parts of the world.
So when you think that afro beat is dying in Nigeria, in
other parts of the world, it is becoming bigger and
more popular,” Kuti told Vanguard.
And here is the part where it gets interesting; Femi Kuti
says he’s not a Nigerian. Then he talks about why
Nigerian artistes won’t do Afrobeat-he says it’s hard,
and well, Nigerian artistes are lazy.
“It does not matter where it originated from, we are all
from the same planet, and I am not going to get caught
in the foolishness of being a Nigerian. I am not a
Nigerian, I am an African. When you understand the
history of Nigeria, Nigeria is a colonial structure set in
motion by Lady Lugard. So Nigeria is not our name.
When you understand the history of Africa, then you
will not be foolish to fall into the category of calling
yourself a Nigerian. I am an African, because you
understand that Africa was divided 1885. When you
look at it from that perspective, you will understand
that people appreciate the talents that come out from
this part of the world,” Kuti said
“If young Nigerian artistes are not playing afro beat
and Americans are playing afro beat, then we need to
ask ourselves the question why? Do you know what it
takes to compose an afro beat number? Nigerian
artiste won’t play afro beat because it is too difficult to
play. The foundation of afro beat is based on
emancipation of Africa, fighting against corruption and
injustice; this is the uniqueness of afro beat, the
truthfulness in the music, like what Bob Marley did with
reggae. The difference is that Afro beat is deeper than
reggae. So the diehard Fela fan want to see a replica
of that. So for you to come out of that stereotype
criticism, you will go through hell. I went through hell.
Breaking out of my father nest was not easy. So I don’t
expect, even for my son to break out of his grandfather
or my nest, he is going to do something extra ordinary.
But then you will look at it from the critical point that
shows the uniqueness of the music and you have to be
so talented and gifted.
“Anybody can do what is going on in the music scene.
The biggest dullard can create a hit. All you need is a
catching phase, it has become a hit, it is entertaining.
When you now want to be critical of it, you will find that
it is the kind of music you will laugh at and make fun
of, it is not classical music or jazz,” Femi Kuti noted.
The artist who plays the saxophone with finesse is
obviously sad about the state of the non-existent
Nigerian music industry as he decries the way it’s
being run, and the fact that artistes don’t take time to
learn what they should. His preference would be Jazz
and classical music anytime; he calls them real music.
“All the films you watch what are you hearing at the
back ground are classical music. Do you take time out
to ask yourself who composed or wrote the music? So
the people making money, serious money in the
entertainment industry music, you don’t hear their
names. You only hear the names of Michael Jackson,
but when you go into a Michael Jackson, you find out
he doesn’t write his songs. How many people know
Quincy Jones? He was the one that made Michael
Jackson, he was the one that wrote the Thriller. So
these are things that many people don’t know. So
when I say we don’t have an industry, I know what I’m
saying. We just want to eat the cherry of the industry.
So there is so much that goes on and you have to go
through years of training before you become a
fantastic force to be reckoned with in classical music or
jazz.”
Kim Kardashian recently made a cameo appearance
at Darey’s show, Love Like A Movie, and she was
reportedly paid $500K. Femi Kuti wonders why foreign
artists are brought into Nigeria and are paid huge
sums catered for by expensive tickets. He says tickets
can’t be as expensive abroad.
“I will give you an insight into my career again,
because I travel out and people think I must be a multi-
millionaire. How do you rate some someone a multi-
millionaire because he is traveling? I buy tickets for
this band; I must pay salary, pay internal flight and
transportation, now the venue there, you are not going
to get more than a thousand people. It is not Nigeria
where you charge people up to N25, 000 to watch a
show; you cannot charge that outside the country. It is
disgusting when you bring an American artiste from
America and you are charging this kind of fee,
because the maximum you will charge in America is
thirty dollars. And if it is a big artiste, you put it in the
stadium.”
A member of the panel of judges for the current edition
of Nigerian Idol, Femi Kuti who had been impressed by
the talents so far, spoke without mincing words, the
failings of the show, and made recommendations for
better shows in the future.
“It is called the Nigerian Idol; I hope in the future, it will
be more African in its presentation, focusing on African
hit songs or Nigerian hits. So if we are singing
Whitney’s songs as a hit, of what good is it to us as a
people? But if we are singing our hit songs irrespective
of the artiste in Africa, we would be promoting the
artiste and our culture in Nigeria and Africa to the
world, because Nigerian Idol is shown all over the
world. Nigerian Idol should be more African than
American.”
Kuti believes there are no two ways to improving the
show than making it more African. “By insisting that
Nigeria or Africa songs are part of it, because I think
that contestant feel that if they don’t sing one of the
America hit songs they will not win. For instance when
sing Fela’s song, they think they have to sing it like
Fela did, or demonstrate like Fela, so the attitude
already is wrong. But if you can sing the song better
than Fela Anikulapo Kuti sing it, if you can sing better
than a bob Marley sing it. The judges are looking for
the unique voice texture. The talent show is just three
years in the making, I think by its fifth or sixth year, it
will change and contestant will know that they have the
ability of singing a Nigerian hit song and still qualify to
any stage of the competition. People have to feel
confident to sing African songs. I noticed this time
around that many of the contestants were singing
either P square or D banj it is just that majority still
sing America. By the time we get to the final six or so,
the contest says the contestant must sing an African
song to qualify.”
Femi says stakeholders in the Nigerian Music industry
have to put the right structures in place; “We need to
build solid foundation for generations to come,
because what we are seeing in a country like Nigeria,
with a hundred and eighty million people, we are going
to have a big problem if these structures are not put in
place
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