Every time Seun Kuti approached the mic with his saxophone during his show at the 9:30 club on Monday he subtly lent his head back, his eyelids partially closed showing only the whites of his eyes, and channeled what I can only assume to be his father’s spirit; as he found his way back to this world, his face would fill with a mischievous grin, and he would start to play.
That might sound eerie, but the truth is that the whole show had a supernatural element to it. Seun lept, danced, marched, gyrated his hips, beat his chest with his fist, screamed, sang and acted out virtually every word that came out of his mouth - he was his music. It is clear that Seun hasn’t just inherited the legacy of his late father, Fela Kuti, rather he has spent his adult life embodying him; he has his own swagger, surely, but its roots are clear and at times the likeness is simply indistinguishable.
It may seem unfair to compare Seun to Fela, but it is also impossible not to. Fela’s music was uniquely his, bred by a unique set of circumstances, an inherited revolutionary mindset, and an uncompromising sense of self. It was powerful, the man ran for president on the strength of the message in his music, and seeing Seun run through “Shuffering and Smiling,” backed by a lock-step Egypt 80 band, was undoubtedly the closest I will come to experiencing Fela first hand.
But Seun is his own man and a formidable showman in the making; he was with it, assuring the audience that the Nigerians in the crowd wouldn’t steal their phones when he asked them to wave them around, relating stories first-hand about the ills of Africa and punctuating his anecdotes with biting asides: “I call them rulers, not leaders.”
His music comes with new and familiar messages, backed by a band that makes grooves thicker than a Dairy Queen Blizzard, and I imagine his seemingly boundless energy will mature much like his brother Femi’s. The great hope I hold onto is that he and Femi will put aside their rivalry, come together like Voltron, and fill the void of the uncompromising musician-come-populist beacon of hope and righteousness that Fela left when he passed.
Fela Lives, after all:
Full photo set here. Words and photos by Paul de Lucena.
Meistro,
Thanks a for the note, the show was awesome. I wish I knew more, I didn’t get to interview Seun, but I found it curious that they were never mentioned together. Eventually I read an article (http://www.planete-aurora.com/en-seun/a.php) that spoke of a bitter rivalry, which seems to have then been widely quoted. The Philadelphia Inquirer, potentially a more reliable source, quoted Seun with a different story: (http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/music/20080704_Seun_Kuti_keeps_Egypt_80_going.html)
Seun says he listens to “all kinds of black music.” He says that contrary to rumor, he does not have a rivalry with his brother, though unlike Femi, who he says is a “cool dude,” he chooses not to update Fela’s classic Afro-beat with touches of hip-hop and modern R&B. “No, no, no,” he says. “There is no need to update it. I play Afro-beat. The music I do is pure and natural and incredible on its own. It doesn’t need help from any other genre.”
The fact is they have a 20-year age gap and don’t perform together, so there is a lot to speculate about. I didn’t want that to be the focus of what I said, but I knew the questions would come about Femi.
Paul
July 9, 2008 at 4:32 pm‘come together like Voltron’ - I love it!!!
Great pics, that’s the truth! You have got a great eye for framing and composition. Plus you’ve convinced me… When is this dude going to play SF?
July 9, 2008 at 5:15 pmThe article and photos rock!! Very nice write-up.
July 29, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Man, what a show. Everything about it was perfect — great write-up and nice pics!
I didn’t notice that tatoo.
what’s the beef between Seun and Femi?
July 9, 2008 at 3:44 pm