Brian Eno To Curate 7-LP Fela Kuti Vinyl Box Set
The eternal impact of Fela Kuti's music on hip-hop, funk, soul and jazz cannot be overestimated. Of the many MCs that have been influenced by the Nigerian master's timeless afrobeat, Brooklyn MC Talib Kweli is one of the most prominent, and now, in a new special playlist composed of Kuti masterpieces. Full of vibrant rhythms and timeless melody lines (along with plenty of extemporaneous shouting), these songs--even those that have not been directly sampled by Kweli--form much of the foundation that made hip-hop possible. They are missives of revolt, sonic declarations against oppressive state powers in the name of freedom, exploration and the groove. Fela Kuti was, in so many ways, hip-hop before hip-hop existed.
Kweli himself had this to say about the new playlist:
“Fela Kuti shows us that the music of the oppressed must always be connected to the struggle. It is never made just for the sake of making something beautiful, it has purpose that goes far beyond entertainment. Fela taught us how to be exactly who we are and to be unapologetic about it.”
Check out the playlist below, which has been handily constructed via Spotify. You can read a bit more about Talib's foray into Fela Kuti over at Fela.net.
