Fela Kuti was truly courageous. Plenty of American and European artists make political statements, but they don't really risk anything by them. America and Europe, though not necessarily paradise, are at least free countries (mostly). Fela Kuti took stands fearlessly, broke laws continually, and as a result he didn't just lose airplay or receive criticism from conservative politicians. The government sent thugs to beat him and burn his tapes. His recording studio was ransacked and his band was abused. His mother was thrown out of a window to her death.
In addition to this, Fela Kuti was a musical genius. If he were just a political dissident, he would be respectable enough, but there are lots of dissidents out there. Not many are also brilliant artists who (almost) single-handedly create entire genres of expression. Fela Kuti did this, and more. Plus, his tunes are damned funky, and there's really nothing better than that.
Obviously, this is a fan site. Fela Kuti has been dead for a while now, and even if he were alive, I doubt he would waste his time making a MySpace. However, I don't really have anything better to do, so here this is, and I hope you enjoy the songs.
(It is also important, I think, to point out Fela's faults. As Luke has brought to my attention, "Fela was...a pretty awful father and husband and an offensive mysogynist [sic] and homophobe...[it] should be acknowledged." Consider it acknowledged. Fela was a human being, and that means he had faults, and some pretty ugly ones at that. It is important to remember that he wasn't a saint or a demigod. He was a man, no more and no less.)
