Nigerian star of global music album Best Global Music Album was also nominated this year. Fela will still be the first African to win a Lifetime Achievement Award. Carlos Santana and Chaka Khan are also among the other awardees for this year.
Fela’s Legacy of Resistance and Culture
Fela was a musical genius, but he also had a strong political and cultural background. With drummer Tony Allen, Kuti co-created Afrobeat, which combines West African rhythms with jazz, highlife and funk. He also added politically-charged lyrics and vocals that call and respond. Over the course of three decades, Fela produced more than fifty albums. He used his music to express social criticism and protest.
Fela, instead of retreating from his pain, turned it into a protest by carrying the coffin of his mother to government offices, and releasing The Coffin of a Head of State.
Fela’s philosophy blended pan-Africanism with anti-imperialism and African-rooted socialistsm. His revolutionary vision was influenced by his mother Funmilayo Randsome-Kuti and US activist Sandra Izsadore. He made headlines in 1978 when he married 27 women at a public ceremony. This was to emphasize communal living and culture unity.
Afrobeat: A Global Celebration
Seun Kuti will receive his Grammy award with Fela and his family. Seun Kuti said that honoring his dad is important for “the global human tapestry” as well as being personal. Stein said that Fela’s activism challenged injustice, government mismanagement and corruption. His recognition is essential for preserving his legacy.
Fela Anikulapo Kuti is a living symbol of creativity and resistance. This Grammy award is a well-deserved tribute to his lasting impact on Afrobeats musicians around the world.
