Two sisters from California make their trek across America in a Volvo covered with Obama stickers
….and Bill T. Jones honors the late Nigerian musician Fela Kuti
Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick. More about Fela Kuti
The leading singer of “Mutuashi,” the Afro-Cuban-influenced dance music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tshala Muana is known for her sensuous stage outfits and extremely sexy dancing. The Baluba folk music tradition has also played an important role in the development of Muana’s sound. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide
TSHALA MUANA: A Musical and Political Biography From the Democratic Republic of Congo
Very few Congolese artists have made it from Le Belle Epoche to the present day Congolese music scene with their fan base still intact while also picking up new fans along the way.
Many have passed away, while others simply lost their popularity over the years as the music of the Congo continued to go through changes. Tshala Muana is one such artist who has stood the test of time. Not only has Tshala Muana wowed audiences for years with her music she has been a advocate for political and social change in the Congo and has even had to flea the country because of her views and political work.
She was born Elizabeth Tshala Muana on March 13, 1958, in the Kasai section of the Congo the 2nd of 10 children. As a child she was very much into dance and the music of her native Kasai. Once she completed secondary school her love for music and dance grew and she dreamed of bringing the unique sounds of Kananga (her native village) called MUTUASHI to other parts of the Congo and eventually the world….[MORE]
Séun Anikulapo Kuti has made sure that his late father’s (Fela Anikulapo Kuti) ‘Afro beat’ musical brilliance and his band Egypt 80, are kept alive.
Séun performs music from both his father’s repertoire and his own. He is an exact replica of his father — Fela Anikulapo Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, October 15, 1938 - August 2, 1997), or simply Fela, who was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick….
Seun Anikulapo Kuti & Egypt 80 Performing in Dakar, Senegal
From Wikipedia: The American Black Power movement influenced Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s political views. He was also a supporter of Pan-Africanism and socialism (although in a 1982 documentary he can clearly be seen rejecting both capitalism and socialism in favour of a third way that he described as Africanism), and called for a united, democratic African republic.
He was a fierce supporter of human rights, and many of his songs are direct attacks against dictatorships, specifically the militaristic governments of Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s. He was also a social commentator, and criticized his fellow Africans (especially the upper class) for betraying traditional African culture. The African culture he believed in also included having many wives (polygyny) and the Kalakuta Republic was formed in part as a polygamist colony.
He defended his stance on polygyny with the words; “A man goes for many women in the first place. Like in Europe, when a man is married, when the wife is sleeping, he goes out and fucks around. He should bring the women in the house, man, to live with him, and stop running around the streets!.”
His views towards women are characterized by some as misogynist, with songs like “Mattress” typically cited as evidence. However, he also extols African womanhood in his song “Lady,” singing “Lady na (is) master.” It should be noted though that Fela was very open when it came to sex, as he portrayed in some of his songs, like “Open and Close” and “Na Poi.”
Fela once ran for the presidency of Nigeria on a platform of — Legalized Marijuana. The military Junta promptly locked him up! — – [more]
Fela Anikulapo Kuti — In Political Mood: Lamenting a corrupt Nigerian Govt.
Sadly, this great African Musician died in on on Saturday, August 2, 1997, at 4pm (local time) in Lagos, Nigeria. It had been rumoured for some time that Fela had a serious illness he was refusing treatment for, many said he was suffering from prostate cancer. But as it turns out, Fela died from complications due to AIDS. As Fela’s brother, Olikoye Ransome Kuti, said at a news conference: “The immediate cause of death of Fela was heart failure, but there were many complications arising from the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.”…[more]
RELATED:
1. From AfroPop.Org — Séun Kuti & Egypt 80, North American Tour and NYC Debut 2007: Séun Kuti and Egypt 80 - his father Fela’s fabled afrobeat band - wowed an exuberant sold-out crowd as they made their New York City debut on July 1st, 2007 at SOB’s.
Everyone was very curious to see what Séun was like, and man, he did not disappoint. What a performer! Singer, sax player, charismatic, bright, and a joyful, quirky dancer - this guy has it all. Someone in the crowd was overheard saying, “A star is born.” Séun shined performing both Fela’s repertoire and his own. Banning Eyre’s photographs tell the story.
Congolese musicians started playing Cuban songs, mimicking the Spanish lyrics or replacing them with verses in their own languages and composing original songs in Cuban styles.
Records produced in Léopoldville (the Belgian Congo) and Brazzaville (the French Congo) in the 40s and 50s confirm, however, that the early stars of rumba Congo never merely imitated Cuban music. Paul Kamba, Antoine Wendo, Henri Bowane, Kallé Kabasele and other artists of their generation created a new sound.
They called it Rumba but used a variety of rhythms and song structures, some recognizably Latin, some not.
Their melodies followed the tones and accents of Lingala and other local languages instead of Spanish. They favored clarinets or saxophones over flutes and trumpets, and above all they featured guitars.
In Congolese Rumba, guitars—usually in pairs or threes—covered all the parts that the guitar, the trés, the violins and the piano played in Cuban music.
And when innovative guitarists such as Franco, Dr. Nico and Papa Noel took up electric guitars in the mid-’50s, Congolese Rumba further distinguished itself from its Cuban antecedent. Soukous is a offshoot Rumba.
