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Of all African musicians, Fela Kuti probably need the least introduction. He passed his half century with over 50 albums to his credit and became the radiant rallying point for African underclass and political prisoners everywhere, as such it is almost impossible to overstate the impact and importance of Fela Anikulapo (Ransome) Kuti to the global musical village.
Fela Kuti was a one man genre, whose music “Afrobeat” took it’s inspiration from the fight for human dignity. Afrobeat's combination of blaring horn sections, antiphonal vocals, Fela's quasi-rapping pidgin English, and percolating guitars, all wrapped up in a smoldering groove that could last nearly an hour, was an intoxicating sound. Once hooked, it was impossible to get enough.
His death on August 3, 1997 of complications from AIDS deeply affected musicians and fans internationally, as a musical and sociopolitical voice on a par with Bob Marley was silenced.
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