Video: Femi Kuti Waxes Poetic on His Legacy and the Future of Afrobeat

Video: Femi Kuti Waxes Poetic on His Legacy and the Future of Afrobeat

“When I die, I want to see Malcom X, Lumumba, my father, and I want to be able to look them in the eye” - Femi Kuti


Upon their reunion, I’m sure Fela Kuti will shower his son with praise for his stellar work as a musician and activist. Let’s just hope that day is far off. The world is already minus 1 Kuti, I’d hate to think of all the music and insight we’d lose if we were deprived of another.

In this brief interview, courtesy of filmmaker Cam Be, Jeff Baraka sits down with the legend to talk about his status as an African icon, ambassador of afrobeat, and where he thinks the genre will head in the future. The interview is interspersed with clips from Femi’s performance at The Metro in Chicago, so in addition to some words of wisdom from the crown prince of afrobeat, you get to see why he has that designation in the first place.

​Photo illustration by Kaushik Kalidindi, Okayplayer.
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