Fela Anikulapo-Kuti created Afrobeat, fought military rulers with his music and built the Kalakuta Republic. Nearly three decades after his death, he was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2026.
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Quick facts
| Full name | Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti (later Fela Anikulapo-Kuti) |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 October 1938, Abeokuta, Ogun State |
| Died | 2 August 1997, Lagos (aged 58) |
| Parents | Rev. Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti and activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti |
| Education | Trinity College of Music, London |
| Bands | Koola Lobitos, Africa ’70, Egypt 80 |
| Children | Including Femi, Seun and Yeni Kuti |
| Honours | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (2026); Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2026) |
A family of fighters
Fela came from a famous Abeokuta family. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, led the women’s revolt against colonial taxes; his father was a clergyman and educator. In 1958 he went to London to study music at Trinity College of Music, where he formed the band Koola Lobitos.
Creating Afrobeat
A 1969 trip to the United States, where he met Black Power activists, changed his music and politics. Back in Lagos he blended highlife, jazz, funk and Yoruba rhythms into long, hypnotic songs with sharp political lyrics — the sound now called Afrobeat — with his band Africa ’70 and later Egypt 80. He sang mostly in Pidgin so ordinary Africans could understand.
Kalakuta Republic and the soldiers
He declared his compound in Lagos the “Kalakuta Republic”, free from military rule. After his 1976 album Zombie mocked soldiers, about 1,000 troops raided Kalakuta in February 1977, burned it and beat its residents; his elderly mother was thrown from a window and later died of her injuries. Fela carried a coffin to Dodan Barracks in protest and recorded “Coffin for Head of State”.
Politics and prison
He formed the Movement of the People party in 1979 and tried to run for president in 1983. In 1984 the Buhari military government jailed him on a currency charge that Amnesty International called politically motivated; he was released after about 20 months.
Essential songs
- Zombie
- Water No Get Enemy
- Expensive Shit
- Shuffering and Shmiling
- Lady
- Sorrow, Tears and Blood
- ITT (International Thief Thief)
- Beasts of No Nation
Death and legacy
Fela died in Lagos on 2 August 1997; his brother, Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, announced that the cause was AIDS-related illness. Over a million people are said to have attended his funeral. His sons Femi and Seun carry on Afrobeat, the New Afrika Shrine hosts the yearly Felabration festival, and the Broadway musical Fela! won Tony Awards. In 2026 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
