Peerless is level 1 of 4 in the Nigeria Hall of Fame: changed the field itself. Tell the country's story without them and the story breaks. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
He invented Afrobeat by fusing American jazz and funk with Yoruba music, and turned it into sustained political opposition that the state answered with force.
Born in Abeokuta in October 1938 to Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Fela built a style that welded American blues, jazz and funk onto traditional Yoruba rhythm, in long tracks that left ample room for the argument in the lyrics.
That argument was almost always with power. His compound was raided by soldiers in 1977, an assault in which his mother was fatally injured. He kept recording and performing until his death in Lagos in August 1997.
That argument was almost always with power. His compound was raided by soldiers in 1977, an assault in which his mother was fatally injured. He kept recording and performing until his death in Lagos in August 1997.
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