In His Own Words: A Q&A with Femi Kuti (2016)

I would like to hear more about the people’s situation in Nigeria. What has changed since your father’s era?

There’s an increase of crime, gone up by 60%. There is still the Boko Haram terrorists. The government says they are winning the war, but we have no idea what’s going on. No footage. Last week the terrorists killed 30 soldiers.

Niger Delta, started a new campaign. Niger Delta Avengers, very big and worrisome.

Poverty is at its worst. No electricity, corruption, same story.

What’s the hope for change? Are people feeling any hope? Why or why not?

Maybe not in my lifetime. Without MLK and Malcolm X, you wouldn’t have Lamumba. Without him you would never have my father. Without my father you wouldn’t have me. The biggest problem is that we lack a strong organization that would get people to protest, to work against this system. Communicating like never before. Someone like me who is deep into the history, you can’t expect change to come overnight. There are religious and ethnic problems, so many things divide us. Education is another big problem; it’s related to slavery. People are still looking up to Europe and America as heaven. We should be thinking more of solving our problems, not running away from the problems.

All the embassies are full, then you find that most people feel, a great number of people feel that if they get to the US or EU, all their problems will be solved. They see movies and get carried away. We’re far from the reality of what is on the ground.

What would you say to migrants seeking to leave Africa?

You can see with the migrant crisis in Europe, this is a major problem.

There is no fast track to solving this problem. Not a dreamer thinking it’s going to happen in my lifetime. I play an active role, playing music, talking to you the way I am now. With Muhammed Ali’s death, you see people getting inspired. We are still very far from solving the problem. It will take another 50 or 100 years. My mind…I’ve seen too many great things around the world, that if they were put in place, you’d solve the problem in 10 years. You could fastrack better life, better surroundings. The people in power are too corrupt or lazy or brainwashed to do it. But I see a lot of people outside Africa who care about what is going on. They are contributing to make a difference. There are a great number of things.

You get so impatient with the amount of suffering; you want it to change.

Tell me more about the weekly programs you have going on in the Shrine?

We perform free every Thursday and Sundays we charge a dollar or so. We have a big, probably the biggest disco on Fridays. 2000 people come every Friday. On Thursday when we play it’s about 800-1000 people. Felabration for a week in October, that goes on, 10-20 thousand people coming in and out during that times.

Tell me a bit about why people come to the Shrine?

Sundays is more international, people from all over come. They do also come on Thursdays, but Sundays is more respectable audience. Thursday is everyone. Everyone’s there. They watch me rehearse new songs. On stage from 7 until midnight. Four and a half hour sets.

It’s a great way to test your music. The Shrine is like a factory for me, I can assess and change. It’s like building a building; you need to test it bit by bit. I can change a phrase and see what the audience does. If they are responding, I can build on it. I can go back and look for something to get them on their feet quicker.

Was it more challenging to get this tour going? Why?

Lost my manager to cancer. It’s been next to impossible to get this tour together. Getting visas was a nightmare. We’ve had problems with the wrong visas. We need our passports to go to England. I’ve been making calls, and it’s impossible to get into the embassies. It’s a nightmare.

But as much as I’m complaining to you, I understand the suffering of so many people. I can’t complain. It really got to me this time. The money, the visas, everything, the economic problems are frustrating for everyone.

The embassy knows I would never jump my visa. My credibility is intact. A lot of musicians will run away. You can’t blame them for being strict.

If I am playing 4-5 hours every week for free. Nobody does this in Nigeria! It shows my commitment and love and dedication. I have to love my people to play for the poor people. You can have a disco for free. They appreciate that. No one will let you into their club for free. I’m not making money. It’s hard for me, but I do it. This is my own way of letting them to see my commitment in another way. The music is there. It’s always there, whether they like it or not, it touches them. People come week in, week out. The price of oil has increased. It will take me a lot to come and watch and Femi Kuti! I have kids, family, why would I come watch? You spent money and time to get there.

What music are you listening to nowadays? How is this music influencing your work?

The next two days after those shows, I have to recuperate. I have too much ringing in my head! Because what my father has done, there’s so much Afrobeat going on. I like to be on the forefront of making a difference. I want to take the music to the next level. I try to come up with new topics, melodies, rhythms. It takes everything from me. I really want the trumpet to be at the forefront of my music in the next five years. Everything has to change in my music. The new album is a whole new direction. I like it, but I feel there is so much I have to offer not in terms of lyrics, but musically, in music dimension. I want to take Afrobeat to another stage, to open doors people didn’t think were possible. With the trumpet, sax, and organ…

I will be playing some of the new tracks. The good thing about playing the old songs, I have to add new ideas so I can make it sound fresh, so that it still means something to me. Age and maturity are bringing me new things. I like the way my body is changing with age. There is more finesse with age. When you are young you are too exuberant. Your body talks to you with age and you have to find a way to maneuver, and that’s beautiful. If I’m playing for 4-5 hours, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do that in my 20’s. I would have abused that energy. Now with age, I can find an answer and a way. My body is acclimating to this age. Not a negative effect. At 60 I will have to find a way.