Fela Kuti Vs Bob Marley: Olufela Olusegun Ransome-Kuti was born into a privileged and influential family background in Nigeria while Nesta Robert Marley was not as lucky as Fela as he grew up in the ghetto of Jamaica.Fela was a dedicated traditionalist till his last day while Bob Marley died as a Rastafarian.Both music icons loved good women beyond words.Felas brand of music was Afro-beat while Marleys music was Reggae.They both enjoyed smoking Indian hemp,even Fela called it medicinal vegetables.Bobs official wife was Rita Marley while Felas official wife was Remi Taylor.Although Fela later married 27 wives(mostly his dancers)in a single day wedding ceremony.(He later divorced them!)Femi,Yeni and Seun(Felas children)are keeping Felas legacy alive with many laudable projects(Felabration and others).Ziggy Marley and his brother are also vibrating to keep Dads name alive for the next generation.Bob Marley died at 36 of Cancer while Fela died at 59 of AIDS.Bobs father, Norval Sinclair Marley, was an Anglo-Jamaican, of Syrian descent, whose family came from England. Norval claimed to have been a captain in the Royal Marines.He was a plantation overseer when he married Cedella Booker, an Afro-Jamaican then 18 years old.Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. In 1955, when Bob Marley was 10 years old, his father died of a heart attack at age 70. Marley faced questions about his own racial identity throughout his life.Felas father,Revd Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti was a clergyman,community leader,nationalist and a school teacher.He was the founder of Nigerian Union of Teachers(NUT)and a prominent member of Eliot Commission which established University College Ibadan(later known as University of Ibadan).He was also the former Principal of Abeokuta Grammar School,Abeokuta.Fela and his younger brother,Bekololari also attended this school while their no nonsense father was the headteacher.Fela even founded a group called Planless group as a schoolboy.Fela Kuti started his music career with Koola Lobitos before going solo to establish Fela and his African 70 and Fela and his Egypt 80 band.Bob Marley,Peter Tosh,Bunny Wailers founded Bob Marley and the Wailers(BMW).Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia had a great influence on Bob Marley while Malcolm X of America,Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Mrs Funmilayo Kuti were role models for Fela Kuti.It is on record of Felas pathological hatred for soldiers(uniformed men) after the Kalakuta republic invasion but he later developed a good and brotherly relationship with Military President Thomas Sankara of Burkina Fasso due to pan-Africanism movement.Bob was once accused of murder in Jamaica and he released I shot the Sherif but did not shoot the deputy Sherif.Marley claimed self-defence.Fela was also charged with murder of his electrician(Sanmi) who was allegedly tortured to death by some of Felas boys.The court later cleared Fela of any wrongdoing.Abami Eda was discharged and acquitted. Tourists and visitors from all over the world are visiting Jamaica on a regular basis because of Bob Marley despite the high crime rates in Bobs birthplace.Fela was witch-hunted,tortured and detained towards the end of his life by anti-drug agency NDLEA Boss,General Bamaiyi.Fela Anikulapo-Kuti as a wordsmith and a talented African musician richly blessed with a high sense of humour interpreted BAMAIYI as Bami yi igbo(Help me wrap my weed) and also as Ba ibi ma yi(Roll with the evil one).During the Bamaiyi s era of persecution.Fela told some journalists that..My case with Bamaiyi don pass briefcase,na suitcase remain now. Nigeria still has a long way to go as per generating income through tourism and to effectively re-brand Felas legacy to attract music lovers and tourists from every corner of the globe to Lagos,Nigeria like the Jamaicans. HAPPY 75TH BIRTHDAY TO AGBA-WOLI OLUFELA OLUSEGUN ANIKULAPO-KUTI. TO BE CONTINUED LATER.(Make I relax my hands jare....research no easy)
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 19:49:12 +0000
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