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Book: Talkin’ ‘bout Fela

Chapter: Fear not for Man: Legacy

DOI: 10.1558/equinox.25018

Blurb:

We hear of his death, his massive mass funeral and then of his continuing and growing career…as he becomes all manner of things to all manner of people: everything from unstoppable musical influence to orisha, from best selling artist to Broadway musical ikon. But has this immortal power and legacy been worthily popularised and promulgated or has it just been more aggressively marketed now that Fela has no say in what happens to his music? Is history a possibility for Fela in the popular realm, or only hype? Have the Vagabonds in Power (VIP) and the International Thief Thief (ITT) bought up/colonised the man who had death in his pouch (Anikulapo)?

Every voice in the book certainly has something to say about all that…including his youngest son Seun Kuti, Andres Levin, musical director of the Red Hot and Fela album which raised funds for Aids awareness, and Trevor Schoonmaker, curator of Black President , the first major cross-artform exhibition of the Art and Legacy of Fela.

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