Last week brought the extra into the extraordinary, as the top six contenders in the Nigerian Idols Season Six snoozed their usual performances to deliver a stellar tribute to the legendary Afrobeat founder, Fela Kuti, by belting out special renditions of his classics.
Shortly before the saddening eviction of the sonorous Beyonce Ajomiwe, the tribute was kicked off with a group performance of Fela’s 1975 hit, Water No Get Enemy, by the top seven. Following the group performance, Faith, Akunna, Comfort, Kingdom, Francis and Emmanuel continued the heated run for the star prize with individual, jaw-dropping renditions of Fela’s revered records.
The Nigerian Idol took a wise cue to include a Fela Week within the show, as the Father of Afrobeats, whom most of the Nigerian music genres in massive circulation are modelled from, has become a central figure in Nigeria’s music history and identity. Fela Kuti, who coined the legendary ‘Afrobeat’ genre – a hybrid of Jazz, Highlife, Funk, Fuji and other non-categorised African melodies – in the ‘70s, became a global music sensation with his musical activism and Kalakuta brand, which has continued to breathe, two decades after his demise, in the music of his children and grandchildren.
Just recently, he was nominated for the prestigious ‘Rock n Roll’ hall of fame, which is a global holy grail of the musical hall of fame.
From Kalakuta to the world, to Kalakuta to Nigerians, these Idol aspirants became animated into a modern-day Fela Kuti with wigs and weaves, and RnB falsettos and whatnot, delivering an exciting and commendable tribute to the respected music legend. These finalists, in preparation for their performances, were taken during the week to the birthmark of Afrobeat itself, Kalakuta Museum, where they were groomed by the Grammy-nominated musician and an undisputable Fela carbon-copy, Seun Kuti, who took them through the philosophy, backstories and even rehearsals of the songs.
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