Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is generally accepted as the gold standard for excellence in Nigerian music. It’s not an unearned distinction. Fela’s mythos is one of the rare ones that fails to fully capture the true weight of his impact, a merger of true musical ingenuity and staunch sociopolitical ideology. He invented a musical style with an evolving scope, released dozens of albums, and sang some of the most definitive songs in African music canon. A loud and unapologetic critic of the government, he was reportedly arrested…
