Watch Beyoncé Pay Homage to Fela Kuti During Her Coachella Performance
The singer's band played Fela Kuti's "Zombie" during her unforgettable set last night.
Unless you've been living under a wi-fi-less rock for the past few days, you've heard all the hype around #BeyChella—Beyoncé's highly-anticipated return to the stage at this year's Coachella music festival in California.
The star took over the festival's main stage last night for a 2 hour-long set which saw her running through her entire discography, bringing to the stage special guests like Jay-Z, Solange and even fellow Destiny's Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.
As expected, Beyoncé's set was electrifying and filled with odes to various aspects of black music, history and culture. At one point, the singer payed homage to Fela Kuti as her band ran through a pulsating rendition of the afrobeat legend's 1976 classic "Zombie." Check out the clip below.
It's certainly not the first time Beyoncé has paid her respects to Fela, she's spoken of his inspiration on her music on several occasions, even recording a 20-track Fela Kuti-inspired album prior to the release of her album 4 back in 2011.
The singer is the first black woman ever to headline the festival and her performance was brimming with references to black history and icons, female empowerment, and even historically black universities. She opened her show by singing "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as the Black National Anthem, before being joined on stage by a group of majorettes and a full marching band.
Of course, the internet has been ablaze all morning with folks trying to figure out how to enroll at Beyoncé's #HBeyCU and candid reactions to how amazingly black and proud #BeyChella was.
Needless to say, #BeyChella was an experience. The singer will return to the Coachella stage again next weekend so prepare to have your edges snatched again before they even have a chance to grow back! You can stream all the Coachella action live here.
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