Nigerian
Musician
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti Dies
From News Services
Monday, August 4, 1997; Page B04
The Washington Post
LAGOS,
Nigeria -- Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, 58,
the maverick Nigerian singer, composer
and saxophonist who fused rock with
African rhythms into a blend known
as "Afrobeat" and popularized it around
the world, died here Aug. 3. He had
AIDS.
Known
to his fans as "Fela," he rose to
national and international fame with
his distinctive Afrobeat music and
his criticism of Nigeria's military
government, and for his bohemian lifestyle.
Known for openly smoking marijuana,
dressing only in his underpants and
sleeping with numerous women, Fela
was a legend among his fans.
After
learning of his death, hundreds of
tearful fans gathered to mourn at
"the Shrine," Fela's home and club
in the Ikeja working-class district
of Lagos, Nigeria's capital.
Fela,
one of the dominant superstars of
African music in the 1970s and 1980s,
recorded more than 50 albums. He also
became famous for his songs criticizing
the military junta of Gen. Sani Abacha,
as well as earlier military regimes
in Nigeria. He was detained several
times and even imprisoned on a variety
of charges.
In
his final two years, Fela made no
effort to oppose military rule, even
though one of his brothers, democracy
activist Beko Ransome-Kuti, is serving
a prison term for involvement in an
alleged coup plot. The musician stayed
at home, giving infrequent, and usually
brief, musical performances at the
Shrine.
Fela
was born in Abeokuta, about 50 miles
north of Lagos. He started out as
a jazz musician but shifted toward
pop and reggae while studying at Trinity
College of Music in Oxford, England,
from 1959 to 1962.
He
also spent time in Ghana and the United
States, where he developed a strong
interest in politics and civil rights.
After returning to Nigeria for good
in 1973, he swiftly became a star.
His top albums included "Zombie,"
"Army Arrangement" and "Vagabond in
Power."
He
became enmeshed in a long-running
confrontation with military authorities
because of his urging that young Nigerians
become more politically active. Troops
burned down his house in 1977.
