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Those who have followed his career and have experienced his music know this for a fact: Femi Kuti never felt just satisfied with being the King's heir. He freed himself from his father's legacy in '85 by putting together his own band, The Positive Force, and thereby working to find his own voice. He became, during the '90s, a renowned artist in his own right with a distinctive, colorful and balanced style.
His records tell the story: After a short spell at Motown, he took
on the Afrobeat sound with his first international album in 1998 («Shoki
Shoki»), before rubbing shoulders with the modern urban style of his American
peers such as Mos Def and Common on the album «Fight To Win».
Returning to Lagos
he worked on rebuilding the new Shrine and released an unbelievable live
project recorded in the heat of the moment in his own venue («Live at the
Shrine», MK2 / 2004).
Finally his first studio record only came about in 2008, having found
inspiration in Paris.
This unanimously celebrated release («Day By Day») was his most successful one.
What was there left for him to accomplish from now on? To complete
the cycle, Femi felt he needed to go back to his roots, to the origins of this
burning feeling inside him which had fired all his work, and going back to the
studio where he had produced his first recordings with his father and his solo
album «Shoki Shoki».
Decca Studio, soon to become Afrodisia Records in the '70s, was the
experimenting ground for most Nigerian masterpieces of the time, including
those of Fela. «It was a very important historical place for Afrobeat and the
place have those mystical vibrations that Femi felt», recalls Sodi, his
longtime travelling buddy, and Parisian producer, who made the trip to Lagos to be a part of it.
«We knew the studio was in a bad state, with old mixing desks, ancient
equipment, we all knew the gear would not be up to the test, but we wanted to
take up the challenge. Because everyting is different in Lagos. The city is such a monster; it has an effect
on the way musicians play. The trick is to capture the Lagos stress without yielding under it
yourself». And Femi gives us further insight : « Between the power cuts and the
dysfunctional AC, we were sweating like pigs. I was playing with Sodi, pretending
to complain: We could be in a comfortable place right now, what are we doing
here? It was madness, but that's what we wanted it to be».
This record may be less carefully produced than the former one. However this was not unintentional, but rather a conscious artistic choice, i.e. not to polish the finishing touches and keep this afrobeat rough in its purest form..... « Aggressive is the word that Femi uses the most when talking about the album. This familiar Punk energy you hear is no surprise therefore even spiced up the African way! Here, the words echo the music perfectly. « Bad Government ». Never has Femi been so vindictive. Or his words so concise. « Nobody Beg »: « But never has my people's condition been so serious» he justifies. As did his idols from the 60s, Coltrane, Parker, Gillespie, his militant spirit sometimes carries a jazzy jab that doesn't however lose any of its intensity. « Politics in Africa ».
More than just a simple musician, the 48-year old composer has become a true African Ambassador, in its most honorable sense. Indeed the album recording had to be arranged around his busy schedule. For example, Femi was in Johannesburg to sing for Africa the opening ceremony for the Football World Cup. There he sang one of his hits « Beng Beng Beng », and took the opportunity to meet a few of the anti-Apartheid heroes. Shortly after, he was heading off to New York to see the famous and very successful Broadway musical about Fela, where he also got to appear on stage, invited by the actors at the end of the show. «It's truly extraordinary, they really understood my father's struggle and his mindset This show has got to travel the world, and come down to the Shrine», he says naturally.
Will we see Femi carrying out this project throughout the world? Maybe. In the meantime, his Shrine still carries the torch week in week out, so much so it has become one of the only last dynamic temples for live African music. Erykah Badu, Damon Albarn, Hugh Masekala have recently made appearances, as have the Lagos Police, who regularly raid the place, picking up and frightening off the local crowd, as they try to close down this highly regarded resistance venue.
The music was great, a very well rehearsed band that I have familiarity with and specifically went to see when I saw the calendar. Every beautiful woman from Portland was there, seriously. The only down side was the mean old security lady harassing people on the side walk between the lawn and the the beer vendors.
NONE CAN MATCH THE ENERGY THE KUTI FAM BRINGS. NEVER SEEN SO MANY HEADS IN THE ZONE.
Femi, Santigold, and Raphael Saadiq were amazing!!
Santigold brought a refreshing wave of 90's flygirl, global fusion rock rippling over the Hollywood Bowl. As usual the relaxed atmosphere, stunning light show and dreamlike backdrop of the Hollywood bowl made for a fantastic time all around.
Was a beautiful day at the bowl! My Guest and I missed Raphael Saddiq, but saw Santigold and Femi. Santigolds set was cool, was not my favorite part of the show though. Femi was Ridiculous was my first time seeing him. Would love to catch him at a smaller venue next time he is in LA, just so I can hear the rhythm section a little more.
I love going to the Hollywood Bowl, this was only my 2nd time, and I really enjoyed it! The performances were great, the crowd was awesome, I loved how diverse it was. Old White people, Young Black people, Asians, Africans, Hispanics, it was beautiful. I would expect trouble in such large crowds, but I saw nothing bad going on, just a lot of friendly people.
This was the frist African Music show I have ever been to and I must say it was like a revelation. I have always liked the music but to expierence it live takes it to another level. Femi surpassed all my expectations, constant energy and the dancers were moving none stop with out a doubt this is one of the best shows I have ever been to
Set up the blanket behind the disabled section. Should have noticed the rope. Couldn't see much of the show, but the music was great and my date was more fun to look at.
we had such a good time dancing to all three artists... I liked the combo of all of their sounds... the only things that bugged me was that we were way up in the boxes and noone was dancing... what is up????
Santigold and Femi Kuti put on a great show to kick off the beginning of summer at the Hollywood Bowl. Unfortunately, because of the Will Call line, I completely missed Raphael Saadiq. This was VERY disappointing and unfortunate for the many fans standing in line.
Raphael, Santigold, Femi, and a bottle of Moscato... how could you not enjoy yourself???
Excellent show, fun crowd, Raphael was smooth as ever, Santigold got the crowd to their feet, and Femi brought the house down. I'd definitely do it again and bring all my friends.
I bought tickets to this show for Santigold and was blown away! I'm surprised she wasn't the one that headlined the concert that night as more people were up dancing and singing to her music than Raphael Saadiq and Femi Kuti combined! It would've been awesome if Raphael Saadiq had performed hits from when he was with Tony! Toni! Toné!. That would've just been icing on the cake!
For a man to sing "Don't come too fast" and play an hour set is quite underwhelming. As talented as he is, Femi Kuti could have put on a classic Hollywood Bowl set, but instead gave a decent, albeit fun, night. Santigold put on a good set too, which included a cover of "Killing An Arab", but the Bowl may have been too big of a venue for the young pop singer to work up. That being said, Santigold is a must see act in a smaller venue.
Our main attractions was Femmi Kutti, when I found out Santogold was going to perform I was looking forward to seeing her, but I have to say that Raphel Saadiq was the best. I never heard his music until that night and he was great, one of the best shows I've seen.
the Hollywood Bowl is a rare experience, especially during a warm summer night in Los Angeles. It's where you go to embrace music, culture, festivies, while picnicing from sunset well into the starry night. What better way to celebrate than by the sounds and energy of Afro-Beat. When Raphael opened, i thought it couldn't possibly get any better. well, i was wrong. Santigold did her thing next on stage. it was her last tour date for the year, and she was so funky and energetic, you'd think it was her first. The climax of course was during Femi's and the band's performance. At one point, the entire audience sat in silence, admiring the culture and rhythmic sounds before them.. hypnotized. the next, we'd get down and funky to the beat! after all, it ain't a party until there's dancing. and that is just what we did. all night long...
I needed to combine Great and Awesome for this show. GRAWESOME!!!! All three performances were that and more!!
EVERYTHING ABOUT THE SHOW WAS SPECTACLE AND WELL STAGE PERFORMANCES AND THE STAGE LIGHTING WAS VERY GOOD PRODUCTION ELECTRIFYING PERFORMED.MY RATING IS HIGH 5 STARS MARKS.
Femi Kuti is the "worlds" greatest musician, second only to the late great Fela Kuti. No other musician can play four instruments simultaneously, with a musically rich band, energetic dancers, all while delivering powerful messages in his lyrics.
I drove from Charlotte, NC to Atlanta to see this show! I had the best time and it was well worth the trip!
