Seun Kuti on his father’s legacy, the Afrobeat movement, and his upcoming EP featuring Black Thought

Interview by Inya Tennyson - Photography by David Corio

We spoke to Afrobeat artist Seun Kuti on break from his ‘Love & Revolution’ world tour with his band Egypt 80. The Grammy-nominated musician and Nigerian socio-political advocate told us about his upcoming project with The Roots’ frontman Black Thought. He shared his thoughts on the global spread of Afrobeat, growing up in the Kuti family and meeting photographer David Corio.

So Seun, take us back in time for a minute. What was it like growing up in the Kuti family?

My family wasn’t just musical. My father was a political activist, revolutionary, and artist. So my upbringing was shaped more by the politics of my father rather than his music I have to say. Politics is just more upfront in Africa. We had a lot of exposure to the musical side of my father, meaning that we went to every show, and felt the retaliation of politics. My siblings and I grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, with two loving parents that did everything to raise us as people that could have a positive social impact. 

Have you lived in Nigeria your entire life or did you move around?

I've always lived there. I couldn't live anywhere else. If I lived in Europe or America, I think I would have been shot by now. *laughs* Because we know the European system and American police like to put uppity N****s in their place and I'm an uppity N****. So, I don't think I would last there.

You voice your political stance using music as a medium. What’s the core of your message?

The message is political because we can only organise our people for liberation through politics. Afrobeat is a genre that was created strictly for the emancipation and liberation of African people from our oppressive situation. And to restore dignity in oneself. So, music is a powerful way to do this. But the fact remains that –if for some reason I could no longer pass this message on through music– I don’t think I’d want to continue to make music. I’d want to find a new way to pass on the message, which is what’s most important to me.

"I believe it's time for an African people-powered highway. A highway that will connect the Diaspora and Motherland. A global highway for African people all over the world to rediscover themselves. To remember that the only thing that unites black people, globally, the only thing we all have in common is that we are from Africa."

How did you come to take the lead of Fela Kuti’s former band Egypt 80?

I’ve been playing percussion and saxophone in the band since I was 8 years old. My dad passed away when I was 14. So it was more of a continuation, as we were already performing together. The band and I decided to carry this on without my father. I started performing my father’s songs and people would come and watch us every weekend.

How do you feel about the rise of American and European artists making Afrobeat music?

I don't think that’s Afrobeat, but Afro-Pop. It's called Afrobeat just like Dancehall used to be called Ragga to sound like Reggae. I don't think this Pop music from Africa and what I do is the same thing or comes from the same place. A lot of artists, even in the Hip Hop genre, are influenced by my father, but that doesn't make Hip Hop Afrobeat. Just like R&B artists sample Fela's music, but that doesn't turn R&B into Afrobeat all of a sudden. So African Pop must pay homage to Fela, who has inspired so many. 

Numerous bands all over the world are playing Afrobeat music these days. From France to the U.S. to Israel and Japan even. In Australia, there’s the Public Opinion Afrobeat Orchestra and in Brazil, there’s the female Afrobeat band Funmilayo, named after my grandmother. This is what I consider the global spread. I think Afrobeat is truly a revolutionary and cultural form taking over the world in a different way from the mainstream. Away from the narrative of consumerism and materialism and about this romanticised ideal of love that African men and women must express love by buying each other expensive European things. I think the real Afrobeat music is immune to all that. Everything else is just Pop music.

Tell us about your recent encounter with photographer David Corio in London, who took an iconic picture of Fela Kuti at his first concert in the UK in 1983, your birth year.

It was an amazing day for me. I knew of David, but I didn't know he was the one who shot this iconic picture of my dad. I never really tied that picture to him. So him showing me the original photograph was special. It was one of the pictures of my dad that I really loved. We had nice chats about football - because we are both Arsenal fans, talked about music, politics, and everything in between from English breakfast to African spice. It was an interesting day.

Interview with Seun Kuti and David Corio

What can we expect from your upcoming EP featuring none other than Black Thought? I heard the lead single ‘Kuku Kee Me (Remix)’ has been selected for the FIFA 23 official soundtrack too.

One of the good things about the pandemic was that we all had some time to breathe and reassess. I've been in touch with Black Thought since I met him at the Grammys in 2019. He asked me if I had new music, so I sent him some beats by my good friend and former flatmate in university Alex Jennings, aka Deejay Molotov. Some are remixes from my ‘Black Times’ album. Black Thought liked them and decided to hop on it. Then he sent me back some of the best verses I may have heard in my life. I mean, I'm serious. Everybody who heard it was mind blown. Black Thought was the first to drop his lines. I like this project so much because everybody that has come after had to match what he did. The lead single ‘Kuku Kee Me (Remix)’ will be released on 23 September.

Which artists do you look up to musically?

My dad was obviously a huge inspiration. James Brown too. One of my greatest inspirations is Paul Robeson. He's a great artist that dedicated his life to the liberation of African people in America and all over the world. And he paid the price with his career for that. We don't talk about such artists enough. To me, every artist who has used their music for something positive is a huge inspiration.

So would you say the message running through the music is more important than the music itself?

Definitely. I think music is a medium for something. If your music is just to promote consumerism and materialism, if it’s used to distract, the message is to create a spirit of division and elitism, and makes African people feel inferior because they can’t afford European things - then your music is shit. But when the message is positive, promoting our survival amid this environmental annihilation that we’re living through instead, then we use our talent for the betterment of the world. And this doesn’t just apply to musicians. If doctors use their talents merely to treat people for profit while people without money are dying, administering chemicals that continue to poison our bodies instead of making natural green medicines, then the doctors are failing. The same goes for teachers who aren’t teaching the truth but indoctrinating students instead of educating them. We must begin to look for our true heroes and begin to look for the messages that resonate with us and help us rediscover our dignity as African people independent of European and Arabic institutions. Because for some reason we only seem to find value in ourselves when these institutions say so. 

I truly hope the following generations are more aware of this. What do you think the future holds for Afrobeat?

Oh, I’m not into predicting the future at all. I can make an informed guess, but I wouldn't call it a prediction. I feel that African music would definitely move with the consciousness of African people. The political consciousness of Nigerian people is way more vibrant today compared to 5 years ago. So I believe that with time, the more people become vibrant, the more they’ll want to make music that really reflects their situation. I think Afrobeat will gain more power in the future because African people want to express themselves seriously. They’ll understand that they can’t just sing, dance, and party their way to liberation. You have to make that sober music that's going to touch home and reignite our need to be African people once again. I mean proper African people, not just in aesthetics, or in the name of fashion, music, and food, but African people in the true sense of embracing our true reality.