FELA KUTI’S -The Best Of The Black President Released on Knitting Factory Records

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The impact of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s music in Africa – and worldwide – cannot be overstated.  Hailing from Lagos, Nigeria, he was Africa’s musical genius, the creator of Afrobeat – a genre combining traditional African highlife, jazz, James Brown funk grooves and latin rhythms into a unique toxic mix that is wholly his own – and a revolutionary. Fela’s politically inflammatory songs laid bare the corruption, violence, and greed of the ruling regimes across the Continent and world. Arrested over a hundred times by the Nigerian government, ultimately 1000 soldiers invaded and destroyed the Kalakuta Republic – Fela’s living and performing compound that he shared with his 27 wives and his mother – sending nearly all of the inhabitants to the hospital, or worse. Despite the death of his own mother after the siege, Fela never stopped fighting the powers of imperialism, colonialism and racism with – as the legendary Fela Kuti put it – music as his weapon.

The Best of the Black President compiles thirteen of the most popular Fela compositions spanning work from all facets of his career with his bands Nigerian 70, Africa 70 and Egypt 80. With deluxe editions of The Best Of The Black President comes a 40 minute DVD, narrated by Sahr Ngaujah, interviews with Carlos Moore & Bill T jones, recorded concert footage, and excerpts from various Fela Kuti documentaries, including Music Is The Weapon.

View Outtakes from Music Is The Weapon Documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVnWnG9r8hk

The Best of the Black President signifies the rebirth of Knitting Factory Records. Earlier this year, KFR licensed the 45 album Fela Kuti catalog. Over the next 18 months, re-masers of all the Fela CDs will be re-released in unique digi-packs w/ the original artwork. Sign up for exclusives and Fela news here:

The profile for Fela will get a boost this fall as FELA! The Musical opens on Broadway at NYC’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre in November. This is a Bill T. Jones Produced power-packed Broadway show which won raves and awards in a 2008 off-Broadway run. http://www.felaonbroadway.com/

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