By Tosin Brown
Over the past two weeks, music lovers in Nigeria have been drawn into serious arguments as to the legacy of late Afrobeat creator, Fela Ransome-Kuti, aka Fela Anikulapo Kuti. The controversy stemmed out of a long-drawn altercation between, Fela musician son, Seun and supporters of Afrobeats act, who started to compare the music legend to their idol. It turns out that many of Nigeria’s young musich lovers are not conversant with the late Afrobeat legend and how much his family has contributed to music in the country.
When Fela began his journey into music, the hugely talented multi-instrumentalist didn’t know that the musical legacy he was building would last three generations. This was after he dumped medicine, which his parents initially planned for him to study at a higher institution.
On August 2, 1997, Fela died at the age of 58, leaving an impeccable musical legacy and stamping his feet on the sands of time as an activist, singer, and progenitor of Afrobeat.
However, this interesting fact might not come as a shock to close family members and the public, who would readily say that music runs in the Kutis’ genes. This is because the patriarch of the Kuti’s dynasty, Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, was a lover of music who also sang and wrote songs. He provided Fela with music lessons on the piano and percussion and was touted to have written some Christian worship songs in Yoruba.
Through Fela’s musical journey, compositions and experiences, the Western palette for African styles was primed to later influence the formation of Afrobeats and other popular genres like Afro house. Over three decades since his death, Fela’s efforts have reverberated on the continent and beyond.
At the moment, the Kuti musical dynasty includes three generations of artistes namely, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti and Omorinmade Kuti, who is the first son of Femi, Fela’s first son who is now fondly decribed as the King of Afrobeat.
Fela, the pioneer of Afrobeat, paved the way for his sons, Femi and Seun, who continue to push the genre forward.
Interestingly, Seun didn’t begin his career fully until his father’s passing when he took over the Egypt 80 band. The 42-year-old Seun shared the stage with his elder brother and currently shares the same music stage with Femi’s son, Made.
Unlike Femi, Seun and Made followed in the same steps as Fela Kuti to study music as a chosen career in the four walls of tertiary education.
While Seun Kuti studied at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Made, like his grandfather, was certified as a professional musician and instrumentalist at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (formerly Trinity College of Music) in London for their music studies.
In several interviews, the 62-year-old Femi regrets not completing his education after dropping out and being supported by his father to join his band. Though he also stands tall as a multi-instrumentalist, Femi is not certified as a music practitioner in any tertiary institution like Fela, Seun, and Made.
Despite this, Femi’s respect and love for his father remain indelible. At different fora, Femi credits Fela with shaping his musical style and political consciousness. He also acknowledges Fela’s impact on his identity as a proud African and his commitment to Pan-Africanism.
Femi has also spoken about specific musical lessons learned from Fela, like the technique of circular breathing on the saxophone.
Speaking of his father, Femi said, “Fela had this battle with the government, they kept beating him. He came out stronger, he came out fighting. His courage, his bravery, the pain he went through – after all that, I could forgive my personal grievances with him.”
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From the days of Fela to his sons and grandson, activism forms a major part of their lives. Fela was in and out of prison several times for confronting the military government as well as composing and releasing songs that tackled bad governance and societal ills.
His sons, Femi and Seun, have also taken up where he left off to challenge the government and hold authorities accountable for their misdeeds.
From musical compositions to joining public protests to challenge bad governance, societal ills and illegal practices, Femi and Seun have had their fair share of activism intertwined with the world of music.
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While Femi has since slowed down with age catching up with him very fast, Seun has remained recalcitrant. He has continued to challenge the status quo using his social media platforms as a medium. He has also been remanded in prison for an altercation with the law.
Though Made is the youngest member of the musical family, he is also making his mark in the Afrobeat scene. Made had signalled his interest in the family legacy when he tried his hand at the trumpet at a young age.
Hence, it was no surprise when he first joined his father’s Positive Force band before forming The Movement band.
Like every Kuti from Fela’s line, Made has also expressed disgust at bad governance, corruption and societal ills through his music and compositions.
However, Made, unlike his family, he has zero interest in activism, stating that his family has done enough over the past decades.
Made, recently, took out time to share his growing scepticism about the cost and impact of fighting for change in a country where his family has historically paid the ultimate price.
In his words, “When you look at Nigeria, you see how many years Fela fought. My Dad fought; Uncle Seun is speaking out now. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti; they threw her from a storey building. She was a righteous person who was so dedicated to the growth of Africa. She risked her life for everything. They killed her for it.
“You might reflect and just say, ‘Well, what’s the point of it if all these people couldn’t bring change? What’s the chance that my song or my performance can really bring change?
“But, I truly believe that it’s not so much in the power of the individual; it’s the power of the collective. I believe that it’s when the right amount of people at the right time do the right thing that can create the spark for change. But whether or not it will be in my lifetime, I don’t know. I’m not an idealist. But I do believe that everybody has to play a part for the country to be better.
“We cannot keep expecting what we didn’t deliver. For me, I play my part. I want to live my life knowing that I do what I have to do. Because I want to have children, and I want to be able to look them in the eyes and said, ‘I did my best.
“Selflessness, I’m very careful with that. Giving and getting nothing in return. I’m of the opinion that we have done enough already. And I’ve really no interest in activism. I’m happy to be at the right side of history, but not at the cost of the well-being of my family and the people around me,” he said.
Fela might have held the first position in the achievements and success of the Kuti dynasty, but Femi Kuti took over when he became the first of the Kuti to earn a Grammy nomination. While he’s yet to win a Grammy award, he has continued to rake in nominations. Made also joined the fray when he picked up his first nomination on the joint album with his father.
Interestingly, Fela didn’t get the deserved honour from the world-acclaimed music award organisers, The Recording Academy of the United States, throughout his life. The Recording Academy, which also serves as the producers and owners of the popular GRAMMY awards, didn’t deem it fit to honour the legacies of Fela until 25 years after his departure from Mother Earth. In 2025, Fela’s work was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
It is no doubt that the Kutis join a long list of popular musical dynasties that include the dynasties of Bob Marley and Jakob Nowell. The dynasty has been distinguished worldwide, with the world recognising a movement that began with the first-generation Kuti.
