2021 marks the 50th Anniversary of the legendary record Fela Kuti made with Ginger Baker of Cream.
This Anniversary edition features a newly unearthed second drum solo from Tony Allen and Ginger Baker, taken from Afrika 70’s performance at the 1978 Berlin Jazz Festival. Part I has never appeared on vinyl and this second part has never been heard - until now.
1978’s Berlin Jazz Festival marked Afrika 70’s final live performance with Fela. In the Spring of 1979, several members of Afrika 70, including Allen, would leave the band. Allen had been with Fela since 1964. 1980 saw the birth of Egypt 80, with Baritone saxophonist Lekan Animashaun, who had been with Fela since 1965, as its founding bandleader.
Reissued with Abbey Road mastered audio.
Fela’s legacy spans decades and genres, touching on jazz, pop, funk, hip-hop, rock and beyond. While he never achieved true icon status during his lifetime, the last (roughly) decade has seen a broad resurgence in his popularity and a critical reevaluation of his life, music and influence. In 2008, the biographical musical ‘Fela!’ (co-produced by Jay-Z and Will Smith) became a surprise hit off-Broadway and then Broadway itself. Since then, Beyoncé performed Fela’s ‘Zombie’ at Coachella, he’s been called out as an influence by everyone from Paul McCartney to Questlove and sampled by Missy Elliott, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Nas, and more. Vice President Kamala Harris even used Fela’s music at her and President Biden's first joint event together.
‘Let’s Start’ features prominently in the trailer and the soundtrack for the new Western, ‘The Harder They Fall’, staring Idris Elba and Regina King.
Fela features prominently in an episode of Hulu’s docuseries ‘McCartney 3, 2, 1’, where Paul McCartney cites Fela as one of his important influences.
Available on red double vinyl with collector's 50th Anniversary gold foil obi strip, with bespoke etching of album artwork on Side D.