Michael E. Veal, Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at Yale University, has produced what will be very hard to beat as the definitive biography of one of Africa's most influential and indeed internationally renowned musicians in modern times-the irrepressible Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
It is worth noting that prior to veal's excellent biographical portrayal, Carlos Moore's 1982 book Fela, Fela-This Bitch of a Life held the distinction of being the best work on the subject.
Veal's book draws upon the wealth of information from this impressive forerunner as well as a plethora of other sources, including magazine articles, features, and interviews and newsreports published over the course of the four decades during which Fela began his musical career and rose to the pinnacle of popular music in Africa.
Veal's biography is quite remarkable.
For an American, the biographer demonstrates a sound knowledge of the social milieu in Nigeria under which Fela developed and matured. The Yale scholar is thus able to present in clear language, the nuances and elements, as well as the events that shaped Fela's character and his music right from the formative years of the 1950s and 60s up until his death in 1997.
The metamorphosis of Fela's music from highlife to "Afro-beat" is traced very credibly, highlighting the influences that both traditional African and modern Western musical forms including jazz, soul and funk, had on the process.
Conversely, the biographer is also able to show how Fela was able to impact upon, not only the music of his African peers (Hugh Masakela, Manu Dibango, etc.), but also on a wide spectrum of musical genres worldwide. These genres range from reggae (Bob Marley and the Wailers) through soul, jazz, funk, and on to hip-hop as manifested in the works of James Brown, George Clinton, Roy Ayers, Lester Bowie, Brandon Marsalis, etc.
Veal also analyzes, very cerebrally, the lyrical content of Fela's prolific recording output over the years. The biographer shows how Fela's lyricism progressed from addressing mundane topics to focussing on the most profound social issues of his times as the musical icon evolved into one of the most vocal crusaders for social justice on the African continent.
There are two graphic sections in the book, which display quite interesting photographs. There are rare pictures of the Ransome-Kuti family in the early and mid 1940s, Fela as a student at Trinity College of Music in the late 1950s, two of Fela's fore runners in the music industry in Nigeria; Bobby Benson and his Jam Session Orchestra, and Victor Olaiya's Cool Cats, a major contemporary of Fela's in the industry; Sunny Ade, prominent band members; Tony Allen and Lekan Animasaun and two of Fela's children; Yeni and Femi. The photograph that however stands out as most novel, is one of the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown clad in a danshiki and Yoruba cap to match, shaking hands with the Oba Oyekan II of Lagos, during a tour of Nigeria in 1970!
The eight chapters of the biography are concluded with archival materials that will be of great documentary value for posterity. These include an appendix of the various musicians that played in all of Fela's bands i.e. Koola Lobitos, Nigeria 70, Afrika 70 and finally, Egypt 80.
The biographer has also compiled probably the most comprehensive discography of Fela's music ever published. This comprises material from the beginning of his career in 1960 on to his hits in the 1990s, including both output produced by Fela's own bands and those produced in conjunction with other artists, as well as unrecorded material.
Indeed as Veit Erlman, Chair of Music History in the School of Music, University of Austin, Texas has averred in the back cover blurb of the book, "Fela: The Life and Times of an African Musical Icon is both timely and bold. [it] has the potential of becoming a classic of African biography. It is well written in an accessible style, rich in local color and musically informed. Veal's study is not the first book written on Fela. But it is by far the best."
This book comes highly recommended for everyone wishing to gain a vivid insight into the life and times of Africa's most extraordinary musician in contemporary times-Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Without doubt, it will provide crucial reading for Fela's teeming fans the world over, all of whom, will relish it for years to come for the great tribute it pays to the departed maestro.
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