Africa 70
Africa 70 was the band of Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti through the 1970s, the group with which he developed Afrobeat. It grew out of Koola Lobitos, renamed Nigeria 70 during a 1969 stay in Los Angeles, and took the name Africa 70 back in Nigeria, as Fela's lyrics turned from love songs to social and political subjects. Drummer Tony Allen (1940-2020) was its musical director. Fela had first led Koola Lobitos while studying in London and re-formed it after returning to Nigeria, with Allen joining after an audition in the mid-1960s.
Members
Ikoyi Blindness
Fela used the cover of Ikoyi Blindness to announce his change of middle name from Ransome, which he now considered a slave name, to Anikulapo, which means “he who carries death in his pouch.” The front cover shows Ransome crossed out and Anikulapo ad…
Noise For Vendor Mouth
"The Nigerian establishment labelled Kalakuta Republic inhabitants as — ‘hooligans’, ‘hemp smokers’, etc. Noise For Vendor Mouth is Fela’s indifference to that name calling because, for him, people in Kalakuta are really a bunch of hard working citiz…
Excuse O
The deepest song here is the second track, ""Mr Grammarticalogylisationalism Is The Boss,” which ridicules the notion that speaking ""proper"" English demonstrates superior intelligence, and bemoans the fact that doing so is, unfortunately, a require…
Kalakuta Show
"The Kalakuta Show album release was Fela’s undaunted manner of extracting revenge on the military regime that attacked and brutalized him in 1974. The second of such attacks in a space of eight months, Kalakuta Show was an attempt by the Nigerian po…
Why Black Man Dey Suffer.......
Also featuring Ginger Baker, the title track is among Fela’s first overtly political lyrics. His political perspective had evolved during the 1969 / 1970 tour of the US, largely through his friendship with the black-rights activist Sandra Izsadore, w…
Shakara
*50th Anniversary reissue* These percolating, horn-heavy grooves simmer while Fela Kuti lays down his trademark rants, often in deliberately skewered pidgin English....totally unstoppable in its mix of music and message. His voice, interlocking guita…
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Fela's London Scene
* 50th anniversary edition of 1971's London Scene, pressed on limited edition white, red, blue splatter vinyl. Complete with a collector's gold OBI strip *Fela Kuti (1938-1997) was a Nigerian musician, producer, arranger, political radical and outlaw…
V.I.P. (Vagabonds In Power) Vol. 1 Live In Berlin
* 2021 Repress * Knitting Factory Records reissue Fela Kuti’s ‘Army Arrangement’ on vinyl, previously only available as part of the Box Set series. ‘Army Arrangement’ is about Nigeria’s attempt at ‘democracy’ in 1979 after more than a decade of milit…
