Fela Kuti: Music as Resistance

Fela Kuti was a musician who refused to separate art from truth. Growing up in Nigeria,

he saw how corruption, colonial legacies, and military power crushed ordinary people.

Instead of staying silent or leaving the country, he turned music into a weapon.

He created Afrobeat — a fierce blend of jazz, funk, and traditional

African rhythms — and filled it with lyrics that openly challenged dictators and injustice.

The cost was enormous. His commune, the Kalakuta Republic, was raided repeatedly. Soldiers beat him,

jailed him, and once threw his elderly mother from a window, killing her.

Many would have stopped. Fela became louder. He released song after song naming