Singer, Made Kuti, who is a grand son to Fela Anikulapo Kuti has said that the Afro-beats pioneer, wasn’t a prophet as he was widely called by people.
Made said this on a video he posted on Instagram while he was speaking on his recently released joint album titled Legacy with his father Femi Kuti.
The singer explained that while a prophet is one who speaks about what is to come, his grand-father was far from that as he spoke about the things that were happening at the time.
“Fela wasn’t a prophet, he wasn’t prophesying about what was to be or come, he was singing about what was happening. If you consider him a prophet, that wasn’t the case…”
He went on to say that Nigerians didn’t appreciate Fela when he was alive and that they turned their backs on him when he needed them.
“We didn’t appreciate Fela while he was alive,” he said. We didn’t appreciate his existence, we didn’t appreciate what he was fighting for, we didn’t stand by him. The day that they raided his home and they threw Funmilayo Ransome- Kuti from his story building, it is well known that there was a crowd watching, there were thousands of people watching that scene.
Femi, Made Kuti Drop Joint Album
“Fela believed that at least one person should have thrown a stone to stop the military officers from charging in because the great number of us could have stopped the raid on his home because this is a man that has been fighting for us, that has been jailed, beaten and brutalized because of us yet he came back stronger, making hits after hits. He believed one person could have fought for him, but that wasn’t the case.”
Legacy was released on Friday and it comprises one solo albums from each artiste, including Femi Kuti‘s Stop The Hate and Made’s For(e)ward.
Just like his grandfather, Made‘s album consists of politically conscious music. Even two decades after his death, Fela’s musical dynasty continues.