Fela Anikulapo Kuti, a late multi-instrumentalist, musician, and human rights campaigner from Nigeria, died roughly 26 years ago.
On August 2, 1997, Fela Anikulapo Kuti passed away at the age of 58. He permanently altered the face of African music in that very little period of time. In the 1970s, Afrobeat—a fusion of jazz, funk, and musical styles from Ghana and Nigeria—became popular throughout West Africa and among African expatriates. Fela was a pioneer in this genre.
One of the various online biographies is that Fela studied trumpet at London’s Trinity College of Music after growing up as the son of a teacher and a preacher in Ogun State, Nigeria. He then spent the final few years of the 1960s in Ghana and in America, more notably in Los Angeles, California, where he first encountered the ideas and philosophy of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. His involvement with the Panthers served as the foundation for his career as an activist artist.
Where is Fela Kuti buried?
The Kalakuta Cemetery in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria is the final resting place of Fela Kuti, the Nigerian singer, composer, and political activist who created Afrobeat.
