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Fela Kuti

Fela Kuti

Acting

Biography

Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (Yoruba: [fɛ̄lá āníkúlák͡pó kútì]; born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre that combines West African music with American funk and jazz. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa's most "challenging and charismatic music performers". AllMusic described him as "a musical and sociopolitical voice" of international significance. Kuti was the son of Nigerian women's rights activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. After early experiences abroad, he and his band Africa '70 (featuring drummer and musical director Tony Allen) shot to stardom in Nigeria during the 1970s, during which Kuti was an outspoken critic and target of Nigeria's military juntas. In 1970, he founded the Kalakuta Republic commune, which declared itself independent from military rule. The commune was destroyed in a 1978 army raid that injured Kuti and his mother, the latter fatally. He was jailed by the government of Muhammadu Buhari in 1984, but released after 20 months. Kuti continued to record and perform through the 1980s and 1990s. Since his death in 1997, reissues and compilations of his music have been overseen by his son, Femi Kuti. Description above from the Wikipedia article Fela Kuti, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

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Each episode of the program tells the biography of one of the outstanding writers of world literature: Truman Capote, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, John Steinbeck, Jean Cocteau and many others...

Un siècle d'écrivains

1995
Finding Fela
6.9

Fela Anikulapo Kuti created the musical movement Afrobeat and used it as a political forum to oppose the Nigerian dictatorship and advocate for the rights of oppressed people. This is the story of his life, music, and political importance.

Finding Fela

2014
Africa Rising
7.5

How African artists have spread African culture all over the world, especially music, since the harsh years of decolonization, trying to offer a nicer portrait of this amazing continent, historically known for tragic subjects, such as slavery, famine, war and political chaos.

Africa Rising

2019
Ginger Baker: In Africa
6.0

In November 1971, Ginger Baker, the legendary drummer of Cream and Blind Faith, decided to set up a recording studio in Lagos, then the capital of Nigeria. Baker was one of the first rock musicians to realize the potential of African music. He also decided that it would be a rewarding musical experience to travel to Nigeria over land across the Sahara desert - a journey that would lead him into a number of adventures. This film by Tony Palmer follows Ginger Baker's odyssey as he makes his journey and finally arrives in Nigeria to set up his studio, which would run successfully through the seventies as a facility for both local and western musicians (Paul McCartney's Wings recorded "Band On The Run" there).

Ginger Baker: In Africa

1973
Paris Black Night
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Paris Black Night

1990
Fela Kuti: Music Is the Weapon
6.7

Musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti recorded more than 60 albums to promote the magic of Afrobeat but never lost his political voice as an outspoken critic against widespread government corruption in Nigeria. This documentary examines the role that Fela, dubbed "Black President," played in shedding light on atrocities in his homeland and in promoting the ascent of African music worldwide.

Fela Kuti: Music Is the Weapon

1982
Fela Kuti: Live at Glastonbury 1984
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Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti performs at the 1984 Glastonbury Festival. Originally produced for Arena.

Fela Kuti: Live at Glastonbury 1984

1984
Fela Kuti: Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense
10.0

A huge influence on world music, Nigerian artist Fela Kuti played many instruments, pioneered afrobeat music and served as a prominent activist for human rights in Africa. This 1984 documentary examines the life and music of the remarkable man. Using his music to raise awareness, Kuti embraced social justice themes. He died in 1997 of complications from AIDS. Footage from his legendary show in Glastonbury, England, is included.

Fela Kuti: Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense

1984
Berliner Jazztage '78
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As a headliner of the prestigious Berlin Jazz Festival (Berliner Jazztage), Fela takes the stage with Afrika '70 and captures the hearts of the audience with a raucous, high-energy, exciting musical performance.

Berliner Jazztage '78

1978
Fela Kuti: Father of Afrobeat
8.0

In 1997, over one million people gathered in Lagos for the funeral of Fela Kuti, Africa’s biggest artist, who gave the world Afrobeat, yet was also a thorn in the side of Nigeria’s military regimes - a revolutionary who fought injustice with his music and a libertine who married 27 wives in one ceremony. When he died from a disease that carried a huge stigma in Africa, there was fear his legacy would die with him. Exclusive testimony reveals the multifaceted man behind the maverick performer.

Fela Kuti: Father of Afrobeat

2020
Happy in the Gap
10.0

A black essay on trains, beaches and space occupation.

Happy in the Gap

2020
The Newcomer
8.0

Agouénou, a newcomer to a government agency, takes on the entrenched corruption and butts heads with the leader of the old-guard, Sénou. The film features music composed and performed by Nigerian Afrobeat luminary Fela Kuti.

The Newcomer

1976
Fela In Concert
6.3

This historic show was recorded in Paris in 1981 during an exclusive, all-night concert. Punctuated by the exotic and suggestive tribal dances and rituals performed on stage by 15 of Fela's wives, this exceptional event was captured by multiple cameras, enhancing this special DVD presentation. Fela was a musician, a politician, a spiritual chief, and an agitator all at once, but however one views the man, he was undeniably a symbolic icon of struggle & revolution, as well as one of the most beloved men in Africa. In Nigeria, Fela claimed that he was better known than the President. It was probably true.

Fela In Concert

2001
My Friend Fela
5.7

Most often portrayed as an eccentric African pop idol of the ghetto, Fela is rarely presented as the strong political leader he was. Through the eyes his close friend and official biographer, the African-Cuban intellectual Carlos Moore, this documentary is devoted to unravel the complexity of Fela’s life. As the story unfolds, it reveals the glories and tragedies that shaped the lives of the pan-African generation as well as Fela's.

My Friend Fela

2019
Fela Kuti | Feel It Stream