News & Views
 

Video of the Day: Femi Kuti Doing His Best

On today's show, Nigerian musician Femi Kuti talked with Farai about his music; the legacy of his father, Fela; and his enduring love for Africa.

So today's clip comes from one of Kuti's concert stops last year in Clearwater, Fla. He performs his song, "Do Your Best."

Have you ever seen him perform live? What's your favorite Femi Kuti song?

comments | |

 

Comments

View all comments »

Add a Comment

Please note that all comments must adhere to the NPR.org discussion rules and terms of use. See also the Community FAQ.

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.

News & Notes:

The interview with Afrobeat artist, Femi Kuti, was enlightening and interesting.

But, you got something entirely wrong. The "News & Notes" website describes Kuti's music as a mixture of "Afrobeat with modern soul and hip-hop."

"Hip-hop" is easily the most over-used adjective used to describe the fixtures found in today's popular culture. "Hip-hop" and even "Soul" are not accurate descriptions of Kuti's music. Indeed, in addition to Afrobeats, Kuti's music is more akin to a Roots music (Reggae) sound. Kuti is more similar to Michael "Ibo" Cooper, original lead singer of the group--Third World; Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown [insert your favorite, Reggae great, here]. Kuti's music is heavy on politically and socially-based lyrics and a potent brass baseline. "Hip-hop" it is not.

Please, let's stop calling everything from apple-butter to peanut-butter: "Hip-hop"?!

Sent by Marcus | 6:34 PM ET | 07-30-2007

I've seen videos of his live shows, but never in person. Favorite song? Two favorites are "Beng Beng Beng" and "Look Around"

Sent by Oshun | 4:28 PM ET | 07-31-2007

My parents were fans of his father's (Fela Kuti) music. I never heard of his musician son till I heard the segment. But I found the segment to be enlightening.

To Marcus:

I know what we hear today of Hip-hop leaves something to be desired but Hip-hop started with fun and "politically and socially-based lyrics." Groups like Public Enemy had a lot to say about social issues and current rappers like Common and Mos-Def (to name a few) bring something different to the table.

Sent by Moji | 5:14 PM ET | 07-31-2007

A brilliant performance on the saxophone by Femi as usual.
In response to Marcus's comment:
Some of Femi's tracks have a root reggae influence; however the greatest influences in his sound come from the heavy percussions of Africa (Yoruba folk music in particular), the black jazz sound of yester-years from the New Orleans area and elements modern hip-hop. If you truly want to be enligtened about Femi's style of Afrobeat you would do well to listen to more of his music.

Ayo

Sent by Ayo | 1:34 PM ET | 08-10-2007



   
   
   
null


 

SPECIAL PROGRAMMING NOTE

 
 

About 'News & Views'

News & Views is the companion blog of NPR's news magazine show, News & Notes. It extends News & Notes' ongoing conversation about the diversity of the African-American experience. For more information, read our Frequently Asked Questions guide and our Discussion Rules.

 
 

News & Notes Podcast

NPR PodcastsListen to the News & Notes podcast for a look at fascinating issues and people from an African-American perspective.



» Get the Podcast

 
 

Staff & Bloggers

Tony Cox

Host,
News & Notes

 

Nicole Childers

Executive Producer,
News & Notes

 

Christabel Nsiah-Buadi

Sr. Supv. Producer,
News & Notes

 

Geoffrey Bennett

Producer,
News & Notes

 

Geoffrey Gardner

Web Producer,
News & Notes

 

 
 

Search 'News & Views'

Search for the word(s):
 
 

Contact Us Privately:

Have something you want to say to us directly? Write Us!

 
 
 

Related News Feeds

 
 

Browse Topics

Services

Programs