Origin story part 2. The “ideological genealogy” of Fela’s revolution actually extends back farther than 1969. Fela’s began twenty years earlier, when he was an 8 year old boy watching his mom make history.

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Fela’s club, The Shrine, was an oasis of freedom amidst a brutal dictatorship. Once inside – and on the dancefloor – the music intoxicated, enraptured and, ultimately, inspired resistance.

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Every superhero – and superstar – has an origin story. For Fela, it happened in 1969 Los Angeles, where a potent mix of music and politics turned a “missionary boy” into a Pan-Africanist freedom fighter and ignited a musical firestorm.

Voice of America audio clips courtesy of voanews.com.

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Fela’s music had the power to move hearts, change minds, and in the case of one man, heal the deepest wounds. 

Audio clip of Ayo Edebiri courtesy of Sundance Institute. Used by Permission.

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Follow Fela Kuti: Fear No Man on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts.

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