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Fela Kuti and Africa 70 With Ginger Baker - Live!
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│ RiPPER.: Mercer5 DATE RiPPED..: 05-10-2001 │
│ LAbEL..: Terrascape Records DATE RELEaSEd: 01-01-1971 │
│ ENCOdER: Audioactive RELEaSE SiZE.: 61,7 MB │
│ BiTrAtE: 192 kbps TRACkS.......: 04 │
│ MOdE...: Joint-Stereo SoURCe.......: CDDA │
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│ ─ ── ───────────┐ ┌───────────── ── ─ │
│ ─ ── ────── RELeASE NoTES ───── ── ─ │
│ │
│ │
│ Fela ANIKULAPO-KUTI, previously RANSOME-KUTI, was born in │
│ Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 1938. His family belonged to the │
│ Egba branch of the Yoruba tribe. His father, like his │
│ grandfather, was a minister of the Protestant church, and │
│ director of the local grammar school. His mother was a │
│ teacher, but later became a politician of considerable │
│ influence. As a teenager, Fela would run for miles to │
│ attend traditional celebrations in the area, already │
│ feeling that the authentic African culture of his │
│ ancestors ought to be preserved. │
│ │
│ His parents sent him to London in 1958, but rather than │
│ study medicine like his two brothers and his sister, Fela │
│ chose to register at the Trinity School of Music, where he │
│ was to spend the next five years. While still a student, │
│ he married a Nigerian girl called Remi and had three │
│ children. In his spare time, Fela played in a high-life │
│ band called KOOLA LOBITOS with other Nigerian musicians │
│ living in London. Among these was J. K. Bremah, who had │
│ previously influenced Fela by introducing him to African │
│ music circles in Lagos at a time when western music │
│ predominated there. │
│ │
│ Fela returned to the Nigerian capital in 1963, three years │
│ after independence. Soon after, he was playing high life │
│ and jazz, fronting the band with those of the musicians │
│ who had come back from England. Over the next few years, │
│ they performed regularly in Lagos and then in 1969, in the │
│ midst of the Biafra war, Fela decided to take KOOLA │
│ LOBITOS to the United States. In Los Angeles, he changed │
│ the name of the group to FELA RANSOME-KUTI AND NIGERIA 70. │
│ │
│ At the club where they were playing, he met an │
│ African-American girl, Sandra Isodore, who was a close │
│ friend to the Black Panthers. She introduced Fela to the │
│ philosophy and writings of Malcolm X, Eldridge Cleaver and │
│ other Black activists and thinkers, through which he was │
│ to become aware of the link existing between Black peoples │
│ all over the world. │
│ │
│ Through this insight, Fela also gained a clearer │
│ understanding of his mother's fight for the rights of │
│ Africans under colonial rule in Nigeria, together with her │
│ support of the Pan Africanist doctrine expounded by Kwame │
│ Nkrumah, the Ghanaian Head of State, who had negotiated │
│ independence for his country with the British. │
│ │
│ While in Los Angeles, Fela also found the inspiration he │
│ was seeking to create his own unique style of music, which │
│ he named AFRO-BEAT. Before leaving America, the band │
│ recorded some of these new songs. Back at home, Fela once │
│ again changed the name of the group, this time to FELA │
│ RANSOME-KUTI & AFRICA 70. The L.A. recordings were │
│ released as a series of singles. │
│ │
│ This new African music was a great success in Lagos, and │
│ Fela was to open a club in the Empire Hotel, called the │
│ Afro-Shrine. At that time, he was still playing the │
│ trumpet, having not yet changed to the saxophone and │
│ piano. He started singing mostly in Pidgin English rather │
│ than in Yoruban, so as to be understood all over Nigeria │
│ and in neighbouring countries. In his songs, he depicted │
│ everyday social situations with which a large part of the │
│ African population was able to identify. │
│ │
│ Young people from all over Nigeria flocked to hear his │
│ songs, which developed themes relating to Blackism and │
│ Africanism, encouraging a return to traditional African │
│ religions. Later he was to become satirical and sarcastic │
│ toward those in power, condemning both military and │
│ civilian regimes for their crimes of mismanagement, │
│ incompetence, theft, corruption and marginalisation of the │
│ underprivileged. │
│ │
│ In 1974, pursuing his dream of an alternative society, he │
│ built a fence around his house and declared it to be an │
│ independent state: THE KALAKUTA REPUBLIC. To the chagrin │
│ of the bourgeois section of Nigerian society, this act of │
│ defiance was soon to spread throughout the entire │
│ neighbourhood as more and more people were inspired by │
│ Fela's stance. The authorities remained vigilant, fearing │
│ the potential power of this 'state within a state.' On │
│ countless occasions, Fela was to suffer the consequences │
│ of his scathing denunciations with arrests, imprisonment │
│ and beatings at the hands of the authorities. │
│ │
│ With each incarceration and violent confrontation with the │
│ powers that be, Fela became more outspoken, changing his │
│ family name from 'Ransome' to 'Anikulapo' ('he who carries │
│ death in his pouch'). His noteriety spread and his records │
│ began to sell in the millions. The population of the │
│ Kalakuta Republic grew amidst mounting criticism, │
│ particularly of the young people, many of whom were still │
│ in their teens, who left their families to live there. │
│ │
│ During the 'Festival for Black Arts and Culture' (FESTAC) │
│ held in Lagos in 1977, Fela sang ZOMBIE, a satire against │
│ the military, which was to become enormously popular │
│ throughout Africa, bringing down the fury of the Nigerian │
│ army upon him and his followers. As Fela relates in │
│ UNKNOWN SOLDIER, a thousand soldiers attacked the │
│ "Kalakuta Republic," burning down his house and beating │
│ all of its occupants. The song tells that, during the │
│ course of this attack, his mother was thrown from a first │
│ floor window and later died from her injuries. │
│ │
│ Homeless and without his Shrine, which had also been │
│ destroyed along with the entire neighborhood, Fela and his │
│ group moved to the Crossroads Hotel. A year later, Fela │
│ went to Accra to arrange a tour. Upon his return, to mark │
│ the first anniversary of the destruction of the Kalakuta │
│ Republic, Fela married twenty seven women in a collective │
│ ceremony, many of whom were his dancers and singers, │
│ giving them all the name ANIKULAPO-KUTI. After the │
│ wedding, the whole group set off for Accra where concerts │
│ had been planned. In a packed Accra stadium, as Fela │
│ played ZOMBIE, riots broke out. The entire group was │
│ arrested and held for two days before being put on a plane │
│ bound for Lagos, banned from returning to Ghana. │
│ │
│ Upon his return to Lagos, still with nowhere to live, Fela │
│ and his entire entourage squatted at the offices of DECCA, │
│ where they remained for almost two months. Soon after, │
│ Fela was invited with the seventy member-strong AFRICA 70 │
│ to play at the Berlin Festival. After the show, almost all │
│ of his musicians ran away. Despite this catalogue of │
│ set-backs, Fela returned to Lagos determined to continue. │
│ │
│ The King of Afro-beat and his Queens went to live in │
│ Ikeja, in J. K. Bremah's house; a new KALAKUTA. There, │
│ Fela, more political than ever, went on to form his own │
│ party, "Movement of the People" (M.O.P.). He presented │
│ himself as a Presidential candidate in the 1979 elections │
│ that would return the country to civilian rule. His │
│ candidature was refused. Four years later, at the next │
│ elections, Fela once more stood for President, but was │
│ prevented from campaigning by the police, who again │
│ rampaged through his house, imprisoning and beating Fela │
│ and many of his followers. Any further Presidential │
│ aspirations were crushed, however, when a coup brought │
│ Nigeria back to military rule. │
│ │
│ In 1984, with General Buhari in power, Fela served twenty │
│ months of a five year prison sentence on trumped-up │
│ currency charges. He was only released when, under General │
│ Babangida, the judge confessed to having sentenced him │
│ with such severity because of pressure from the previous │
│ regime. The judge was dismissed from office and Fela was │
│ given his liberty. │
│ │
│ Over the next decade, with an entourage of up to eighty │
│ people, now called EGYPT 80, Fela made several visits to │
│ Europe and the United States. These tours were to receive │
│ tremendous public and critical acclaim, and made an │
│ important contribution to the worldwide popular acceptance │
│ of African rhythms and culture. │
│ │
│ Considering himself to be the spiritual son of Kwame │
│ Nkrumah, the renowned Pan Africanist, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti │
│ was a virulent critic of colonialism and neo-colonialism. │
│ Over the past twenty years, he became famous as a │
│ spokesman for the great mass of people, in Nigeria and │
│ elsewhere in Africa and the African diaspora, disenchanted │
│ with the period of post-independence. │
│ │
│ FelaÆs sad death in August 1997 was mourned by the nation. │
│ Even those who did not agree with him were among the │
│ million people or more who attended his funeral. Even the │
│ many governmental letters of condolence sent to his family │
│ were eloquent testimonials to a great man. His death was │
│ attributed to AIDS-related heart failure, though a more │
│ popular diagnosis was that, as a result of the countless │
│ beatings at the hands of the authorities, his system was │
│ sufficiently weakened to allow disease to enter. │
│ │
│ Throughout his life, Fela was sustained by the │
│ unconditional love and respect offered to him by the │
│ millions of people whose lives he touched. In death, he │
│ retains the legendary status to which he was elevated by │
│ the throngs of people who came to pay their last respects │
│ at his laying in state in Tafa Balewa Square: 'Abami Eda' │
│ - (Chief Priest). " He will live forever!" │
│ │
│ - Jacqueline GRANDCHAMP-THIAM (Paris) - Rikki STEIN │
│ (London) 1999 │
│ │
│ (1938-1997) OBITUARY │
│ Fela was sweet; perhaps not an adjective that would │
│ normally be used to describe this tornado of a man, but │
│ Fela was sweet to me. The sweetness that I perceived in │
│ him emanated from his love for humanity; particularly for │
│ those who had drawn life's short straw. Hundreds of people │
│ depended upon Fela for a living. Many more than he needed │
│ to run his Lagos club, The Shrine, or to play in his band. │
│ │
│ I saw him as a social engineer, concerned with issues of │
│ injustice, corruption, the abuses of power. He was ready │
│ to lay his life on the line in defense of such causes, │
│ which he did on countless occasions. For his trouble he │
│ was beaten with rifle butts, endlessly harassed, │
│ imprisoned, vilified by the authorities, despised by │
│ bourgeois society (whose sons and daughters were │
│ captivated by him). His house was once burned to the │
│ ground by a thousand soldiers after they had raped and │
│ beaten his followers, thrown his mother and brother from a │
│ window, both of whom suffered fractures (his mother was │
│ ultimately to die from her injuries). Each time they were │
│ to beat him, though, he always bounced back with a │
│ vengeance, stronger than ever. It is my view that the only │
│ thing that kept him alive, and the ultimate source of his │
│ strength, was the love the people had for him. │
│ │
│ And his music - the rumble of thunder and the crack of │
│ lightning - layer upon layer of sublimely interwoven │
│ rhythm and melody, tangled in a delicious knot of divine │
│ inspiration. Deliberate conspiracies of hot brass woven │
│ around the intricately hypnotic consistency of bass and │
│ guitar lines, all driven by the dual forces of lavish │
│ percussion and Fela's own passion for the precision of his │
│ musical vision. Heaven help any musician who might stray │
│ from his given task. Fury would descend upon him until, in │
│ mortal terror, he would struggle his way back into the │
│ groove. │
│ │
│ The icing on the cake of a Fela performance was his │
│ singers and dancers; fabulous glittering unreal creatures │
│ from another world who would exude waves of sensuality and │
│ downright sexiness that you could cut with a knife. All in │
│ all, thirty-something people on stage, each playing their │
│ part in what Fela called "the underground spiritual game." │
│ │
│ In the center of this audio-visual feast for the senses, │
│ Fela reigned supreme. He was everywhere at once; playing │
│ keyboards, soprano or alto sax, the occasional drum solo, │
│ a sinuous dance from one side of the stage to the other │
│ and then it was time to sing, the ever-present spliff held │
│ in his elegant fingers. No moon and toon and joon for this │
│ articulate firebrand. Only eloquent, biting poetic social │
│ observation, expressed with a breathtaking clarity and │
│ natural authority which placed him firmly in an │
│ unsurpassed realm in which he had no equal. Perhaps │
│ Pavarotti can break a wine glass at sixty paces, maybe │
│ Bono can make girls wet their pants with a flick of his │
│ sweat laden hair, but for sheer mastery, panache, style │
│ and guts nobody could or can beat this guy. To get a bead │
│ on who he was, once he had recorded a song, he would never │
│ perform it again on stage, no matter how record company │
│ execs may plead. │
│ │
│ Recently, however, he had ceased his endless harangue of │
│ politicians, big business, organized religion, the │
│ military, police, etc. (Once, when running for President │
│ of Nigeria, he proclaimed that his first act upon being │
│ elected would be to enroll the entire population in the │
│ police force. Then, he said, "Before a policeman could │
│ slap you, he would have to think twice because you're a │
│ policeman, too." The authorities ultimately refused to │
│ allow him to enter the race. Too bad.) │
│ │
│ He now saw politics as "a distraction," saying that our │
│ only task was to enter into contact with our own spirit, │
│ without which "we would not survive." His last years were │
│ spent in spiritual contemplation. He never left the house, │
│ except twice a week to go to the Shrine and play. He │
│ wouldn't arrive until two in the morning. There would be │
│ fifteen hundred people waiting for him and he would finish │
│ at dawn. │
│ │
│ And now he has gone. AIDS they said. As far as I'm │
│ concerned it was one beating too many which had weakened │
│ his body sufficiently to allow disease to enter. He was a │
│ giant of a man, but a man nevertheless. The system can │
│ only take so much. │
│ │
│ I went to his funeral. A hundred and fifty thousand people │
│ or so gathered in Tafawa Balewa Square to pay their last │
│ respects. Bands played, people queued endlessly to file │
│ past his glass coffin. We then ran with the coffin to a │
│ hearse (there were still thirty thousand people queuing │
│ up) to make the 20 mile journey to the Shrine, where │
│ Fela's children were to carry out a private ceremony for │
│ family and friends. In a cavalcade of vehicles we rode │
│ through Lagos City behind a band in the back of a pick-up │
│ truck playing Fela tunes. The road was thronged with tens │
│ of thousands of people, until we came to the brow of a │
│ hill. I looked down across the valley to the distant │
│ horizon. The road was filled with people from one side to │
│ the other and as far as the eye could see. A million │
│ people or more, and even more came as we passed through │
│ each neighborhood. Seven hours to cover 20 miles and the │
│ band never dropped a note. As we came nearer to Ikeja, we │
│ began to worry. What would happen when we reached Pepple │
│ Street, a small side street in which The Shrine was │
│ situated. How, in fact would we reach The Shrine with a │
│ million people in front of us? Night fell as we drew near. │
│ We turned in to Pepple Street. There was hardly anyone │
│ there. One million or more people had decided that it was │
│ not appropriate for them to be there. │
│ │
│ Fela was my friend for the past fifteen years. Our │
│ fourteen year working relationship had grown from that │
│ friendship. I regret his passing but celebrate his life. │
│ He will live forever through the incredible legacy of more │
│ than 50 albums of music which he has left us and through │
│ the love and respect of the millions of people who knew │
│ him, from near or far. │
│ │
│ He was finally laid to rest in front of his house, │
│ Kalakuta, in Ikeja on the morning of Tuesday, August 12, │
│ 1997. His son, Femi, played a plaintive sax solo. A gentle │
│ rain fell; like perfume. │
│ │
│ │
│ │
├─────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────┤
│ ─ ── ───────────┐ ┌───────────── ── ─ │
│ ─ ── ────--─ TRaCK LiST ──--─── ── ─ │
│ ____ __________________________________________ _______ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ # │ Track Name │ Time │ │
│ ├────┼───────────-──────────────────────────────┼───────┤ │
│ │ 01 │ Let's Start │ 07:52 │ │
│ │ 02 │ Black Man's Cry │ 12:13 │ │
│ │ 03 │ Ye Ye De Smell │ 12:35 │ │
│ │ 04 │ Egbe Mi O │ 12:13 │ │
│ │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────┼───────┤ │
│ │ │ Total │ 44:53 │ │
│─────── ──── ──────── ────────────────────────── ────── ─────── ────────┤
├─────────────────────┘ ─ ── ─ SHoUToUTS ─ ─── ─ └───────────────────────┤
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│ ─ ── ───────────┐ ┌───────────── ── ─ │
│ ─ ── ─────── WaNNA HeLP? ────── ── ─ │
│ CMS is always looking for new members. T1+ siteops with at least │
│ 50Gb space, rippers who can get new/rare underground stuff, *nix │
│ admins who can provide legitimate shells, haQerz that can change │
│ members grades in college and anyone who has skills which may be │
│ useful are welcome to... │
│ │
├─────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Welcome the members of mwL ("music we like") │
│ to the CMS crew. Watch out for DOPE rips from │
│ eyes_, Triple_H, rhymo, MiNd, LV, Dark, and Duck_Down. │
│ │
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│ DSP FTD │
│ mwL ─ ── ────-─ GRouP GrEEtS ─-──── ── ─ hbZ │
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