For the first in our series of artists interviewing artists, Chicago Afrobeat Project keyboardist Kevin Ford spoke with Femi Kuti, eldest son of legendary Afrobeat pioneer and Nigerian human-rights activist Fela Kuti, about his new album, his doubts about democracy, and his efforts to protect his father’s legacy while carrying it forward. Femi Kuti plays with his band the Positive Force on April 30 at Metro.
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Femi Kuti: When we record in Lagos it’s like being on the battlefield. The electricity cuts off. There is no central AC, and we are sweating like dogs. All the things we are singing about, we are confronted with them in the studio. When we record in France, we are very comfortable. In Paris, it’s very difficult to [express] yourself when you are singing about problems and you can’t really identify with those problems.
I planned to do the songs that way. But probably the emotion you are hearing comes from the fact that I was reconfronted with the attitude of Lagos.
The U.S. and Nigeria are obviously different places, but Afrobeat music is very strong in the U.S., even though we don’t have the same politics.
It’s not underground. They made a mistake. I don’t know why everybody’s always saying “underground.” My father said “on the ground.”
