Paul McCartney Wept When He Saw This Musician Live

He fought a corrupt government and his only weapon was his music

Adebayo Ijidakinro
10 min readDec 3, 2020
Image courtesy of Leni Sinclair/Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty Images — Fela at a concert in Detroit, 1986

AsAs I sat down to write down this article, I was perplexed as to how I should start. Should I begin with a brief history of prolific musicians who shaped the musical landscape of their times? Should I speak of artists such as Bob Marley who had a positive global impact? Or should I speak about my own love and appreciation for music?

However, I’ve decided that the best way to introduce this article is with an introduction to the person whom this article is written about. A man who endured the death of his mother at the hands of his government. A man who invented an entirely new genre of music to get his message across to a vast audience of Africans. A man who waged war on the government of his time with music as his only weapon.

Who was this man? Fela Anikulapo Kuti or Fela for short.

If this is the first time you’ve heard this name, I hope that by the end of this article it becomes a name you will never forget.

In my opinion, Fela is the greatest musician of the 21st century. A bold statement, but a statement I utter with no fear nor reservation.

Who was Fela? That question can only be answered by reading his story.

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Adebayo Ijidakinro
Adebayo Ijidakinro

Written by Adebayo Ijidakinro

I’m a 10+ year iOS Developer whose worked with 6 startups. This past year I released 6 iOS and web apps. Follow me and learn how to make your Startup a success.