Fela Kuti is to African music what Bob Marley is to reggae: its prophet. All contemporary forms of black music, from funk to electronic, owe something to the irresistible groove of the Afrobeat sound that he created. He recorded more than 60 albums and spent a lifetime fighting against political corruption in his homeland of Nigeria, where the people affectionately called him their “Black President.”

Shot in Lagos at the peak of his career in 1982, this documentary contains interviews with Fela detailing his thoughts on politics, Pan-Africanism, music and religion, alongside unpublished versions of songs like ITT, Army Arrangement and Power Show. For all who wish to know more about an artist at the heart of African musical history, Fela Kuti: Music is the Weapon is an essential film.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fela Kuti: Music is the Weapon Product Information

Grade Level: College and University
Subjects: African Studies, Arts, Music & Ethnology and Gender Studies
Copyright: © 1985 Francis Kertekian
Set: DVD Only
Total Running Time: 53 minutes with bonus footage

Educational Prices: (includes Public Performance Rights)

Educational with Public Performance Rights: $249.00
 
 

Educational without Public Performance Rights: $149.00

Note: Please contact info@alivemindeducation.com or call us at 800-562-3330 if you need further assistance.

 
 
 
 

For public exhibition inquiries please contact us for more details!

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Finding Depth in Fela’s Women
By Felia R. Lee, The New York Times

This is the short list of how the women of “Fela!,” the Broadway musical about the Nigerian Afrobeat musician and political agitator, do not see their characters: victims, go-go dancers, sex objects. The nine women in tight outfits, elaborate hairdos and painted faces represent the 27 real-life co-wives of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, who married them collectively in what he considered a personal and political gesture as he fought against Nigeria’s corrupt authoritarian regime and defended traditional African culture.

The women have no individual lines; their characters aren’t even named onstage. In any other show they would be considered part of the chorus. Yet they maintain a constant, magnetic stage presence, dancing and singing at Fela’s nightclub, the Shrine, in the Lagos of the late ’70s. While their stories are not told, their characters have been thoroughly studied and embodied by the performers, who see them as an integral part of the complex and contradictory tale of the man who inspired the musical.

Read the article here.