Seun Kuti
Seun Kuti, son of the late afrobeat legend, Fela, tells ‘NONYE BEN-NWANKWO why people think he is a controversial artiste and why he is not getting married anytime soon
We learnt you just came back from a world tour
Oh yes. It was a six-month tour. We went
to Canada, Trinidad, Cannery Island, Algeria and so many other
countries. We went to Brazil, Argentina as well. I went with my band
members and it was very successful.
So the foreign crowd still identify with afro beat music?
Oh yes. We had a good time and the fans
had a good time. Music is music anywhere and it has a universal
language. I don’t think race or nationality impacts on music. It has got
nothing to do with tribe. If it is good, people will love it and they
would dance and sing. Music has nothing to do with feelings or language.
We left in March and came back in May for 10 days and left again till
we came back in November. I had to cancel some shows to be able to come
back because I was tired. Offers kept coming but I couldn’t keep
touring. I was exhausted. I was performing almost four times a week for
almost 24 weeks. I was physically exhausted.
But you hardly get engagements in Nigeria, why?
I don’t know. I come back here to rest
because I don’t get jobs here. I don’t understand it as well. At times, I
am saddened by it because it is just a shame. It is not even about me
but the band which has the pedigree of being a big band. But just for
political reasons, we are being excluded. I believe afro beat should be
in high demand in Nigeria, Fela did a lot for Nigerians. I watch the
shows here and it is not as if they are better than what I do.
Don’t you think you are not invited to perform here in Nigeria because your songs are so controversial?
In America, political artistes hardly get
shows. The entertainment industry is highly corporate these days.
Artistes are no longer artistes, they are businessmen. You hear them
calling themselves ‘brands’ and such names. Most of them that are famous
no longer have the artistic spirit. The spirit is feared in corporate
world. The real artiste cannot be dictated to. They want people they can
tell how to dress and what to sing. Artistes who play political music
are totally ignored these days. It is not only in Nigeria. It is normal
that Nigerian establishments fight back against me. But why I am not
happy about this is just because of The Shrine. Even if people think my
brother and I are not making good music, I think Fela has done enough
for this country for people to support the Shrine. But they give stupid
reasons that the Shrine is dangerous.
But is it not?
It is not! The Shrine has never
experienced a case of robbery except once when we invited Fuji people to
come and perform there. I don’t want to name the artiste but at that
show, they were robbing people even in the toilet. Apart from that,
there’s no other case of robbery.
Is it not high time you switched to the other side?
There is no benefit in ‘the other side.’ I
have been playing music since I was eight years old and that is like 23
years ago. I respect the few artistes who have toed that line and
maybe, made it. But they eventually became pastors. These are people
like Ebenezer Obey and Kris Okotie. The other ones are those who
praise-sing people who can be their children just because they want to
make money from them. I don’t want that to be my portion.
Is it right to say that you
are controversial just because your father was and in your quest to be
like him, you try to emulate him in all things?
I don’t think I am even controversial.
The society is morally bankrupt, so they find truth as controversial. I
try as much as possible to be myself all the time. Being Fela’s son is
part of who I am. If someone as great as Fela is your father, it is very
likely that he would influence you. I don’t owe anybody any explanation
for that. I have never made decisions because I want to be like my
father. In fact, my father never encouraged us to make decisions like
that. We were taught to accept who we are in its entirety. A big part of
my individuality is that I am Fela’s son, what can I do? I just say
things the way they are. One day, I wore a suit for my video and the
next thing I read about me was, ‘Controversial artiste turns his back
against his father, wears a suit.’
How old were you when he died?
I was almost 15 when he died.
What kind of a father was he?
Fela didn’t beat his children; that
wasn’t his style. He said he didn’t like his father because his father
used to beat him. He didn’t beat us because he didn’t want us to ‘hate’
him the way he ‘hated’ his father. He used to talk to us to correct us
and we would listen. He believed so much in talking and he could talk to
you for close to two hours, which you wouldn’t want again.
You said you started playing music at the age of eight, couldn’t you have chosen to do another thing but music?
Growing up, I thought of doing so many
things apart from music. I was really good in school. I didn’t need to
read to pass my exams. I could have done an intellectual job. I could
have been an Economist. That was basically my dream. I was the captain
of my high school football team. I love football a lot. I still play the
game.
So why didn’t you go professional?
I could have but my uncle told me that
professional footballers retire in their 30s and that all the good
coaching jobs are taken. So, I would probably be bored for the second
half of my life. That is why old footballers get fat. This brought me to
the other love that I had which is music. I love music. My parents
never asked me to play music. Maybe it was out of love for music and a
bit of naivety that made me get into music.
Hasn’t your music put you in trouble before?
You only get into trouble when you do
something that is against the law. My music cannot put me into trouble.
This is democracy. They can only attack us economically.
Did you watch your dad perform?
I used to go to all the shows with my
dad. I saw his lifestyle. He made money; people loved him and his music.
There were women everywhere. I felt it was the easiest job ever. But
that was very naive. Music is not easy at all. I think a musician’s life
is one of the hardest to live. We have to be perfect anytime we work.
If a musician makes a mistake on the stage, that is the beginning of the
end of his career. If you make it two or three more times, people will
say you are not ‘tight’ on the stage.
Can we ever see you and Femi collaborating?
Collaborations like that are money
spinners. If we would collaborate, it is not because we want to do
something great for music because we are already making great music
individually. But if we do it, it would mainly be for financial reason.
We agreed that as soon as we feel our career is slowing down and money
is not coming as it should, we would jump into the studio and do a money
spinner.
Did you actually mean it when you said you weren’t going to get married even to the mother of your child?
I don’t believe in marriage. If I had
wanted to be married, I would have been working towards it. People can
decide what they want to do with their lives. I just don’t believe in
that institution especially as it is set up today
How do you mean?
I don’t like the idea of ‘ownership.’
Nobody has the right to own anybody. This is a capitalist idea so that
people can make profit off love. You don’t make profit off love.
What if the mother of your child decides to get married to someone else?
She is free. If she wants to be married,
then that is her choice. What will I do about it? Will I put a gun to
her head and insist that she should not get married? But I know she will
not do that because we have a strong bond and we understand each other
and our partnership is great. We are raising a beautiful daughter and it
would be a big surprise if she says she wants to get married to someone
else.
Do you miss your father?
I miss him. He raised me. I grew up with
him. It would be callous of me to say I don’t miss him. It would be a
lie too. Lies are even worse than callousness. I wish I could have a
conversation with him. It would be great if I could talk to him.
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