Fela Kuti

Born on the 18th of October, 1938 to the Kuti family of Egba in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, Fela Ransome-Kuti first cut his teeth in music when he shunned a career in medicine, the profession he had been expected to enter by his father, opting for music which he eventually studied while in England. Fela was a son of a reverend, but chose his own ways to express his music to his fans round the globe. He later formed a musical group known as Koola Lobitos, which metamorphosed into the Egypt '80 band. Fela through the years has carved a niche for himself in the music industry, particularly in the Afrobeat genre of which he is generally accepted as Exponent. He was a world-acclaimed musician who used his music as a form of struggle against bad government policies, social neglect and corruption. He was generally known to be a no-nonsense individual who believed strongly in fairness and justice at all levels of society. Fela changed his middle-name from Ransome (which he had inherited through his father's side from the British who colonised Nigeria) to Anikulapo (meaning "one who has death in his pouch"). Abami Eda, as Fela is fondly called by his teeming fans and friends, has many musical works to his credit. Among them are Beast of No Nation, International Thief Thief and Overtake Don Overtake Overtake, all of which are very popular among his fans across the globe. In 1977, a group of government soldiers invaded Fela's house in Lagos, known as "Kalakuta Republic," beat him and his mother who died and later arrested and detained him. Due to his revolutionary attitude, Abami Eda has been arrested and detained several times and by the time of his death on August 2nd, 1997 at the age of 59 years, he had appeared in Court over 450 times in 13 years. Biography provided by African'Vogue (www.afrikanvogue.com) via http://www.nigeria-arts.net/Music/Afrobeat/Fela_Kuti/ website