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By 1978, when Femi Kuti was recruited into his father Fela Kuti's band, playing saxophone at age 16, the elder Kuti had already garnered international fame for a dance-friendly fusion of jazz, funk, and the traditional and contemporary highlife "Music of his native Nigeria, which, in 1967, he'd dubbed" Afrobeat. "In their home country, the Kuti was also notorious for Fela's repeated lyrical attacks on the corruption and military repression which had infested the government for much of Nigeria's existence, since its liberation from British control in 1960. Fela had been severely beaten, his common in the city of Lagos attacked, and his elderly mother, an anti-colonialist feminist, fatally injured.
his protests, and also affected an idiosyncratically flagrant lifestyle, declaring his independence from the Nigerian state and one point marrying 27 women. Femi Kuti, who has formed his own band (called Positive Force), opened the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos to help preserve his father's music and legend. Seeking to update his own sound and appeal, Femi collaborated with Western pop musicians including Common, Mos Def, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove. He's been nominated four times for a world music Grammy. Continuing to sing out against government in Nigeria and elsewhere, Ambbadador by Amnesty International. Earlier on the US Tour, which will bring him to Stern Grove in San Francisco next Sunday, Femi spoke by SFCV .
Was your father proud of you when you first joined his Egypt 80 band?
Yes, though now, at my age [56]I do not know what he was so proud about. [Chuckles] I can say I'm very proud of my his [Made, pronounced “Mah-deh”]because he can read, he can write, at his age he's far ahead of what I was at that age. But this is because I made sure he deserved the education.
I know he's performed with your Positive Force band, will he be at Stern Grove?
No, he will not. He's just finished his university, so he's trying to settle in, back in Lagos.
So your situation growing up with your father was different.
I was more of an experiment. My father did not believe I needed to be successful. He could have me out there, and we could say he could not be bothered, or that he had a lot of confidence in me. The pressure was not on him, but on me. But you could say he was right. What I've had to do with a very good life, I think, probably unnecessary. Having said that, probably if I had gone to school, my music would be boring. So probably this very turbulent life
Your music, like Fela's, has taken issue with things happening in Nigeria. What's the current state of affairs there, and are you still addressing them?
Yes, I am, because the current situation is not so good, it's very rough and untidy. But I do not know about my commentary on my albums [rather than in public]because I find that the politicians are just stupid on social media, and I do not have time for being ridiculous about serious issues, or trying to condemn me. I'm rather spending my time practicing.
One People, One Year, 1945 One World [Knitting Factory Records]?
One of the tracks, "Dem Militarize Democracy", talks about the military as still controlling the democratic process. We have had a great deal of presidents and governors, and they have been like us since the introduction of the democratic process. Even when there was a civilian head of state, he was put there by military officers. They are playing with the minds of the people.
How did the music of your father help you illuminate the people's minds?
The music of my father was giving historical facts, he was talking about issues in the '70s that are still dominant in our lives today. Some people see him as a prophet. And why would you want to read a book about historical facts, when you can just listen to my father's music?
In your music, do we still hear Afrobeat?
Yes, of course, the foundation is still Afrobeat, and it will always be. You could say I'm still a loyalist
How do you mean?
Because I appreciate the knowledge I got as a child, listening to my father. It was my first love, my dream, to always play this kind of music. I will never be one to bring my father's music down. It is embedded in my soul and my spirit, I do not intend to neglect the love of what I felt as a child. Ever.
Any other influences on your music-making?
Any new jazz of interest to you?
No, I do not know of any. If I were to go to the right now, I would go from the beginning; I'd go back to my Charlie Parker and John Coltrane and Miles Davis. I would like to know where I'm coming from and I know where I want to go. I'm sure there are hundreds of good players, but my goal is to compose and be good as I can, personally speaking.
So when we hear your alto sax solos at Stern Grove, it will be yours, without need of comparison.
I can badure you of that! My aim is to compose directly from my source. I've decided to be inspired by anything else but life. I still try to do six hours of practice every day, and I look for melodies in my head.
How does the makeup of your Positive Force together support your vision?
On tour, we are four horn sections, bbad, guitar, piano, percussion, drums, three dancers, and singers. [In Lagos] We perform every Sunday and Thursday, and everybody must know my numbers, so I can call upon any tune, any time, new and very old songs of mine.
In Stern Grove, will we hear older Femi hits? Anything from Fela?
I will not go too far back, maybe about five years. And there will be stuff from the new album. I do not know if I have time for my dad's music.
Is One People, One World a different disc?
Each album has been separated from the rest. This album is more optimistic.
What generated the optimism?
I think, being a father, giving my children a better future. There is a different flavor in my mind.
They get excited, they think I'm making a lot of money, which is not the case. Being on the road after a night, taking a big band on tour, is very tedious, and not very financially rewarding anymore. But I think of it as a showcasing my music and what I'm talking about
I'd badume your spreading understanding has been furthered by collaborations with Western acts like Common and Mos def.
You will reach an audience that you would not be listening to. It helps in pbading the message, while I also keep my fan base intact.
And there's a global message?
The orientation of world powers has changed, and it's not just about Africa, it's about the human race. Our energy has to be diverted to helping nations excel.
The musical about Fela! your father who opened on Broadway in 2009 and won a bunch of Tony nominations and awards.
They were extremely well with his character. And I'm especially impressed with [commodities trader] Steve Hendel, who's all gone, and probably lost a lot of it. He loved what my father was about to get to know as much as he could. (19659002) Let me end up with a quote for your saxophone, 51 minutes and 35 seconds, which you accomplished at your New Afrika Shrine in May of this year. How did you do it?
It took me a couple of years [of trying]. And every time I did it, with circular breathing, people would tell me, "Kenny G has the world record!" I was not in competition with Kenny G, I just wanted to enhance my creativity. People never say the beauty of what I was doing. But now they can not say that Kenny G has the world record anymore, I can spend the rest of my time just enjoying my playing.
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