Upside Down
Released: 1976
Label: N\A
Released: 1976
Label: N\A
Upside Down, released in 1976, is one of the more unusual items in Fela Kuti's discography from the period. Not structurally -- it's the usual two-song, half-hour deal, the songs beginning with...
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Open & Close
Released: 1971
Label: N\A
Released: 1971
Label: N\A
Another long-thought-lost gem from the Fela Anikulapo Kuti archives, Open & Close was originally released in 1971 and, in the manner of He Miss Road and Fela's London Scene, is a total groove-fest...
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Gentleman
Released: 1973
Label: N\A
Released: 1973
Label: N\A
Gentleman is both an Africa 70 and Afro-beat masterpiece. High marks go to the scathing commentary that Fela Anikulapo Kuti lets loose but also to the instrumentation and the overall arrangements,...
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Everything Scatter
Released: 1975
Label: N\A
Released: 1975
Label: N\A
Perhaps one risks charges of artistic insensitivity by saying so, but by the mid-1970s Kuti's records were becoming predictable and formulaic to an extent. It was a good formula, played and sung...
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Shakara
Released: 1972
Label: N\A
Released: 1972
Label: N\A
Fela Kuti was often described as "the James Brown of Africa," but one could also argue that he was Africa's equivalent of Miles Davis or John Coltrane. Truth be told, either description is valid....
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The '69 Los Angeles Sessions
Released: 1994
Label: N\A
Released: 1994
Label: N\A
Recorded in 1969 under duress courtesy of the Department of Immigration and Naturalization, the Los Angeles Sessions are among the earliest glimpse of Fela Anikulapo Kuti's developing Afrobeat...
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Underground System
Released: 1992
Label: N\A
Released: 1992
Label: N\A
Underground System was among the better recordings of Fela's late career, comprised of two extended tracks, the title cut and "Pansa Pansa." "Underground System" starts off with rhythms that are...
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Black Man's Cry
Released: 1992
Label: N\A
Released: 1992
Label: N\A
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti's "Afrobeat" music combines elements of West African highlife, horn-powered funk, jazz, and traditional Yoruba rhythms. Call-and-response African vocals deliver potent political...
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