History
Afrobeat is a mixture of traditional Yoruba music (Nigeria), jazz, funk, and chanting vocals. The originator of Afrobeat music was Fela Kupti who coined the term “Afrobeat.” Originally sent to London in 1958 to study medicine, Kuti formed his first band called “Koola Lobitos”. It was a fusion of jazz and club music at the time. Upon graduating and returning back home to Nigeria, he put the band back together. This time it was heavily influenced by black jazz musicians across the Atlantic, such as James Brown. Kuti wanted to make sure that his new style of music differed from his peers so he brought “Yoruba” style music with its feisty, complex drum rhythms and instrumental riffs from the jazz era.
Kuti moved to Los Angeles where he gained his political education and became one of the world’s strongest black advocates in Black Nationalism. Before being deported to Nigeria, he recorded the “69 Los Angeles Sessions” making him a musician of professional standing and distinction. His single “This is Sad” exemplifies jazz sophistication and African beats.
When Kuti returned to Nigeria he set up the “Kalakuta Republic”, which housed his recording studio. There are two flavors of Afrobeat music: “one a fusion of several different stlys, that accommodated the contemporary music of the 1960s, with his African ancestry as a foundation; and the political and humanist message that Kuti himself had faith. In his own words, ‘Whites are mistreating blacks, and that’s bad, but blacks are mistreating blacks, and that’s worse.'” (http://globalartscentral.com/afrobeat/)
Kupti died in 1997, but Afrobeats is still well and alive. Continue reading our blog to see how!
Did You Know?
Fela Kuti’s life was turned into a broadway play, “Fela! The Musical” produced by Jay-Z and Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith and a film, “Finding Fela."
Afrobeat is a mixture of traditional Yoruba music (Nigeria), jazz, funk, and chanting vocals. The originator of Afrobeat music was Fela Kupti who coined the term “Afrobeat.” Originally sent to London in 1958 to study medicine, Kuti formed his first band called “Koola Lobitos”. It was a fusion of jazz and club music at the time. Upon graduating and returning back home to Nigeria, he put the band back together. This time it was heavily influenced by black jazz musicians across the Atlantic, such as James Brown. Kuti wanted to make sure that his new style of music differed from his peers so he brought “Yoruba” style music with its feisty, complex drum rhythms and instrumental riffs from the jazz era.
Kuti moved to Los Angeles where he gained his political education and became one of the world’s strongest black advocates in Black Nationalism. Before being deported to Nigeria, he recorded the “69 Los Angeles Sessions” making him a musician of professional standing and distinction. His single “This is Sad” exemplifies jazz sophistication and African beats.
When Kuti returned to Nigeria he set up the “Kalakuta Republic”, which housed his recording studio. There are two flavors of Afrobeat music: “one a fusion of several different stlys, that accommodated the contemporary music of the 1960s, with his African ancestry as a foundation; and the political and humanist message that Kuti himself had faith. In his own words, ‘Whites are mistreating blacks, and that’s bad, but blacks are mistreating blacks, and that’s worse.'” (http://globalartscentral.com/afrobeat/)
Kupti died in 1997, but Afrobeats is still well and alive. Continue reading our blog to see how!
Did You Know?
Fela Kuti’s life was turned into a broadway play, “Fela! The Musical” produced by Jay-Z and Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith and a film, “Finding Fela."
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