He was a schoolboy when he started singing with his father’s band. When Fela Anikulapo Kuti died in August 1997, his youngest son, Seun, took over the leadership of Egypt 80, the band that had played behind the most famous musician in Nigerian history. Many people expected the band to fade. It is still touring.
Fela’s son
Oluseun Anikulapo Kuti was born in January 1983 in Lagos. He grew up at Kalakuta, his father’s compound, in the middle of Fela’s world: the Shrine, the music, the politics and the constant conflict with the Nigerian state. As a child, he began performing with Egypt 80, opening some shows for his father.
Taking over
Fela’s death left Egypt 80 without its leader. The band’s veteran musicians had played with Fela for years. Seun, still a teenager, became their frontman. He kept them together through the difficult years after Fela’s death, while his older brother Femi led his own band, Positive Force.
Many Things
In 2008, the band released Many Things, the first album under the name Seun Kuti & Egypt 80. It sounded close to Fela’s Afrobeat: long songs, horn sections, interlocking guitars and political lyrics. Critics praised it, and it took the band on tours of Europe and America.
His own voice
Seun has sung about corruption, police brutality, poverty and global inequality, like his father. But he has also addressed modern issues, from the internet to multinational power. His style is direct and confrontational.
Black Times
The album Black Times, released in 2018, featured Carlos Santana on one track. It was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 2019 Grammy Awards. The award went to Soweto Gospel Choir, but the nomination was recognition for the band and its leader.
Egypt 80’s veterans
Part of the band’s strength is its continuity. Some of its musicians played with Fela, among them the late baritone saxophonist and bandleader Lekan Animashaun, known as Baba Ani. Their presence gives Seun’s shows a link to the original Afrobeat sound.
The Shrine
Seun performs regularly at the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos, the venue his siblings Femi and Yeni opened after Fela’s death. The Shrine is a place of pilgrimage for Afrobeat fans, and the annual Felabration festival keeps Fela’s memory alive.
Many famous musicians’ bands dissolve when the leader dies. Egypt 80 did not, because a teenage son decided to keep it going. Nearly three decades later, Seun Kuti has spent more years leading the band than many of its members spent with Fela.
