For the past few weeks, Femi Kuti’s music has been in constant rotation all around me, cd-player, moto, computer, record player and DVD. This recent inundation was caused by a feeling that more time should be spent really listening to all of his recordings… music I could knew well, but had relegated to a corner of my mind and filed under, “music that I know… good music, but stuff that I rarely play,” so it was music that I had not really listened to in a while, some of it for years!

Years ago when when I originally heard Femi’s music, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. There was a feeling that Fela was the real deal, and Femi (or anyone else for that matter) was merely a cheap immitation riding on the laurels of his father. Since then, what he’s all about has definitely come into the clear, setting himself apart as a musician, bandleader & activist.

Listening to his releases in succession allowed me pinpoint something that I’ve been feeling for some time. Of all the current Nigerian musicians, Femi Kuti is likely the most attuned to Nigeria’s challenges today - socially, economically and politically. Continuing the work his father started, Femi uses music as his weapon in the fight for the common man in Nigeria, calling out abuses of power, corruption, and this new “democracy.”

On Femi’s brilliant self-titled 1995 release (out of print), one song clearly stands out - “Plenty Nonsense.” It calls out those nonsense things around him in Africa and Nigeria, (which at the time was a nation suffering in the clutches of its most brutal dictator - Sani Abacha)

(chorus)
You go see nonsense thing
wey go make you just dey cry
you go cry… blood go commot from you eye

When Babanginda dey spoil Nigeria
Abiola no talk against am
he follow am dey chop, dey enjoy
Together they want make Nigerians craze…

Anything I have to add about this song is only drowned because the song speaks so loudly. Check it out and follow the links above to pick up some of the most socially-minded music coming out of Nigeria today.

Femi Kuti - Plenty Nonsense

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Check out Femi Kuti and crew in the Gallery

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Social awareness in music is something I love to see. People like Femi Kuti and Lagbaja exemplify this phenomenon, but several of the new crop of Nigerian hip-hop artists have shown interest as well. This phenomenon is especially important in hip hop because of its broad appeal and high penetration, especially with the younger generation.

While the song “Plenty Nonsense” by the Trybesmen may not be as hard hitting as Femi Kuti’s 1995, “Plenty Nonsense,” it still addresses real-life issues (police roadblocks, disparity between the rich & poor, youth, education and the church,) but does so in an accessible, comical manner.

The song is delivered almost entirely in pidgin and doesn’t have the awkward sound that often accompanies flowing between pidgin & (attempts at) yankee slang. The rhyming and delivery on this track are brilliant.

Looking forward to more material like this from the Trybesmen (who are rumored to have broken up to pursue individual projects)

Trybesmen - Plenty Nonsense

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Check out Trybesmen in the Gallery

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E.T. Mensah was a renowned Ghanaian musician and band leader, but in the 50s and early 60s, he was better known as the undisputed “King of Highlife” throughout “British” West Africa, that is, Nigeria, Western Cameroon, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Gambia.

Highlife dance music was one of the earliest popular fusions of West African music and western sounds. In this case the influences were strongly from the English and Spanish Caribbean in the form of the Merengue, Charanga, Cha-cha, Rumba, Calypso and so on (which interestingly have roots in West African music), but also saw heavy influence from American swing music of the post-war era.

Mensah and the Tempos pioneered Highlife in the early 40s through the 50s and 60s, solidifying the sound and paving the way for others, including other early acts like Rex Lawson & The Ramblers, A.B. Crentsil, African Brothers Band, etc.

If you were out dancing in Lagos or Accra in the 1950s and early 60s, highlife music is what the band was most likely playing. It was a music of the times - it reflected the optimism and hope individuals had in a the early days of self rule. You can hear this in the light-hearted themes and uplifting sounds.

Check out E.T. Mensah and the Tempos Band in one of their biggest hits, “All For You.”

E.T. Mensah & The Tempos - All For You

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One man is typically credited for the political, Nigerian music that fuses jazz, funk and traditional african music into a form known as Afrobeat - that man is Fela Anikulapo Kuti - the front-man, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, musical director and originator of the term Afrobeat. But Fela cannot be single-handedly credited with its creation. An integral part of the equation was self-taught drummer Tony Allen who brought us those unmistakeable rhymthms that Afrobeat is known for today.

Fela once reportedly claimed that without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat. A strong statement, but it only demonstrates what an integral part Tony Allen was in the creation of the sound.

Tony Allen played with Fela from the Koola Lobitos days, through the formation of Africa 70 and up until 1977 before parting ways to work independently. He formed the group, the Mighty Irokos that played strictly Afrobeat between 1981 and 1983, but left Nigeria for Europe in 1984 where he produced the Album N.E.P.A. along with musicians from King Sunny Ade’s band. The acronym known officially as the National Electrical Power Authority, it was better known for providing erratic power throughout Nigeria, often leaving areas without electricity for days. Tony allen appropriately re-purposed the acronym to mean, “Never Expect Power Always.”

On the title track of the album, Allen pays tribute to the phenomenon (that stays true to this day, 20 years later) in this Juju & FM-synth-infused 80s afrobeat tune.

Tony Allen - N.E.P.A.

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Check out Tony Allen in the Gallery

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One of the tracks created specifically for the Red Hot + Riot album is a remake by Bugz in the Attic and Wunmi of the 1977 Fela smash hit, Zombie.

In 1976, the planning of the Second World Black Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC77) was underway and Fela was invited to part of the Organizing Committee.
He soon realized that many of the involved were interested only in lining their own pockets & pulled out, staging a protest performance at The Shrine running concurrently with FESTAC77. It was here that Zombie made its public debut.

Reportedly a huge success, these concerts were jam packed every night, drawing the likes of Stevie Wonder, Gilberto Gil, Bootsie Collins and all the international artists/musicians slated to attend FESTAC77 who instead ended up at The Shrine.

It’s also worth noting that after the FESTAC77 concert and all the foreign visitors had left town, military dictator Olusegun Obasanjo (apparently seeing Fela’s withdrawal from FESTAC77 as a significant threat) swooped down on The Shrine with over 1000 soldiers, burning it to the ground, raping & brutaling his wives and throwing his aged mother out of the 2nd floor window (who later died from her injuries).

Fast forward 25 years…

Wunmi & the London music collective Bugz in the Attic had quite a reputation and years of history to live up to on this remake… and indeed they gave it a solid effort.

Replacing Fela’s venom-laden voice is Wunmi’s less-edgy singing, chants and calls backed by a stripped down Afrobeat production mixed with Brokenbeat drumming.
Some will notice that this effort doesn’t leave you with the same effect of the original Zombie and that’s understandable as it serves an entirely different purpose. This is a dancefloor track, bringing Fela’s music to a wider audience whereas the original Zombie was straight-up protest material.

Bugz in the Attic featuring Wunmi - Zombie

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Two bands, worlds apart, released songs titled, “Enjoy Yourself” in 1976. One was the Jackson Five, the other was The Sahara All Stars of Jos. The similarity between the two ends with the name, and while most would likely recognize the prior of the two, the latter (as you might guess) went almost entirely unnoticed outside of West Africa.

The Sahara All Stars started as a Highlife band in the plateau city of Jos, but heavily influenced by the sound of Fela and Lagos which infused their music with heavy doses of Afrobeat, Funk and Jazz, transforming their sound into the unique Afrobeat/Soul Jazz sound they’re known for today.

Their song Enjoy Yourself, calls on the audience to live for today, for the future is unknown:

Jump, if you get bele to put am
Drink, if you get bele to take am
Enjoy yourself as you think say you sabi
Nobody knows, the day him go die

I no get money for bank
My bele na my bank
I hide money for bank
My bele na my bank
I dey chop, I dey drink
I dey henjoy myself

While I won’t forward this advice as words to live by, it does come in handy when you want to let loose, kick back and enjoy.
This songs effortlessly combines the playful syncopation of the drum set, with the tight rhythm section and syncopated guitar skanks, layered with bellowing horns, strong vocals/lyrics & even the rhodes piano. Excellent work from the band that put Jos on the Afrobeat map - The Sahara All Stars.

Sahara All Stars Band of Jos - Enjoy Yourself

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