MOG

Hello all, hope this missive finds you well.

I was led to writing this after reading Brand X's most excellent post on world police brutality day. Which got me thinking...

Who is the most rock and rollingist, most hardcore, most extreme, the coolest, the most dont-give-a-fuckest motherfucker in the history of popular music? Was it John Bonham, and the infamous Red Snapper incident?¹ Or maybe Jerry Lee Lewis rolling up to Graceland with a loaded gun? No sir, the man you are looking for is Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

Fela was born in Nigeria in 1938. He led a life of extraordinary drama and in his time wrote some incredible music.

In 1970, he formed the Kalakuta Republic, a commune-come-recording studio that he later declared to be an independant state. This displeased the Nigerian government so in 1974 the police turned up to Fela's place with a search warrant and a cannabis joint. Fela knew he was being set up so he swallowed the joint. In response, the police took him into custody and waited for him to shit it back out again. But Fela, being a resourceful kind of chap, enlisted the help of his prison mates and gave the fuzz someone elses do-do instead. He recounted the tale in 'Expensive Shit'²

In 1977 the government decided they'd had enough and invaded Kalakuta with 1000 soldiers. Fela was badly beaten and his elderly mother was thrown from a window and died. Fela's response? He delivered his mother's coffin to an army barrack and wrote 'Coffin For Head Of State'

Lesser men would have capitulated at this point but not Fela. He twice put himself forward for president. In 1979 his candidature was refused and in 1983 his was arrested on trumped up charges of money smuggling and was sentanced to 5 years in prison.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti died of AIDS in 1997³. If anyone can offer an example of a musical light that burned more brightly, reply here.

1: And this is why Wikipedia is a wonder of the internet age. It has a whole entry on the Red Snapper incident. Try finding that in Encyclopaedia Brittanica.

2: This song is really long and takes a while to get started but listen to it about three times and you'll probably love it. It's also designed for dancing so turn it up loud and draw the curtains so no-one can see you dancing like a twat.

3: Fela changed his middle name to "Anikulapo", which means "he who carries death in his pouch". What a man.