“I already believe we are already in a state of anarchy. But Nigerians are very resilient and are always praying and we want Jesus Christ to come down from heaven and change Nigeria for us. We are ready to wait,” the Afrobeat musician said.
He adds: “It’s boiling, slowly but surely. And if the government doesn’t quickly change … violence could start at any time.”
The driving rhythms of Kuti’s message follow that of his famous father, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, who created the synthesis of pop and jazz fueling Afrobeat and served as one of the staunchest critics of military rule in oil-rich Nigeria. Now the focus of a Broadway musical, Fela’s mysticism and sexual exploits are reaching a new audience.
But Femi Kuti, 48, learned from the excesses of his flawed rebel father. A two-time Grammy nominee, Kuti found his own voice amid the growing noise in a Nigeria where freedom of speech exists like never before in his lifetime as well as a sustained commercial and worldwide following.
“I know when to be light; I know when to be hard,” he said in a recent interview.
The delicate balance of commercial success under the heading of world music helps Kuti and sister Yeni Kuti to keep open the New Afrika Shrine, a relocated version of the Shrine that their father lived and played in.
Source:http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/11/a-legend%E2%80%99s-son-rises-to-his-own-acclaim/
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