Fela Anikulapo Kuti: 20 Years in the Stars!

Remembering Abami Eda…..

On August 2, 1997, Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti left this world to be among the stars. His death was announced the next day by his brother, Olikoye Ransome Kuti.
Today marks the 20^th year of his passing; we remember and honour this icon who left an unforgettable print not only in music but in many facets of Nigerian life and history and in the world at large.

Fela, as he is populalrly known, was a colossus who dedicated himself to living an authentic life. If you need help on how to live unpretentiously, Fela is one of those to study. Which probably explains why he was such an enigma to both his friends and enemies alike. He lived his truth and that was a magnet for a lot of people, whether they agree with him or not.


Fela was undoubtedly a musical genius; the distinctness of his sound and style remains beautiful and refreshing. Added to the honest, no-nonsense and irreverent  prophecy-like messages of his songs, Fela cannot be forgotten. With his legacy, he broke through time and space to live on and speak on even without a body.
Today we honour the memory  and legacy the abami eda himself, Fela Anikulapo Kuti on the 20^th anniversary of his passing on. We will always remember him.
We leave you with 5 facts about Fela that you should know (if you don’t know already)

• His full name at birth was Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti
• Fela once married 27 women (yes, 27) in one day!
• His father, Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, was a reverend; an Anglican minister and school principal
• His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti,  was a political and women’s rights activist; the first woman to drive a car in Nigeria.
• Fela stopped using his hyphenated name Ransome because it was a slave name. He changed his name to Anikulapo which means “He who carries death in his pouch”

Fela passed on today, 20 years ago

Remembering his legacy

We leave you with one of this Afrobeat legend’s tunes; the track, “Water No Get Enemy”. Enjoy!