Fela Kuti
Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti was born on October 15, 1938. Known as Fela or Fela Kuti, he was not only a musician, he was also a human rights activist.
In 1969, Fela was introduced to the Black Power movement in the United States and used his experiences as musical inspiration.
He spoke out against the practices of the Nigerian military which resulted in his assault and his mother sustaining fatal injuries when she was thrown out of a window.
He formed his own political party called Movement of the People.
Declared a “prisoner of conscience” due to his outspoken criticism of the Buhari administration of 1984, he was incarcerated for 20 months.
In 1993 he was arrested for murder due to his unrelenting advocating against military corruption.
Fela was also a pioneer in the familiarization of Afro-pop, an African music genre with a compilation of jazz, Ghanaian/Nigerian highlife, psychedelic rock and funk.
Fela died on August 2, 1997.
