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Fela Anikulapo Kuti

Posted by Webby on 3/11/2001 6:27:11 AM


Fela Anikulapo Kuti

Fela Anikulapo Kuti (1938-97), legendary international musician, known as "Abami eda" (the strange one), was the most creative and celebrated Afro-beat superstar.
He was notorious in his lifetime for his anti-military activism. He was a social maverick who married 27 women in a day, an extraordinary event that made him an object of curiosity by all manner of people all over the world. As a musician, he was a genius and an iconoclast whose music transcended cultural and political barriers. He had several brushes with the law and his songs vilified most Nigerian governments during his lifetime.

He glamorized the use of marijuana and was arrested and jailed several times when caught with it. His lifestyle and promiscuity led to his death after contracting Aids. In 1998 he was posthumously awarded the prestigious Kora Award for his huge contributions to world music.