Black Man's Cry: The Inspiration Of Fela Kuti

Seemingly Fela Kuti is fi na lly star tin g to receive the long-overdue mainstream recognition his work deserves. Along with the recent opening of the Fela! Broadway musical, Brooklyn's Knitting Factory Records are planning a remastered reissue of the Afro-beat king's complete catalogue this year. So it's apt that as the masses begin to catch on, the label Now-Again, who have long known the truth, now dig a little deeper to release a selection of largely obscure tracks inspired to some extent by Fela. Unsurprisingly there's straight-up Nigerian Afro-beat, including the organ– led grooves of Segun Bucknor's ‘Adebo’ (complete with a Fela-esque politically minded monologue outro) and Bola Johnson's ‘Hot Pants’, whose horns echo those in Fela's ‘Jeun Ko‘Ko’. With their faithful reproduction of the genre, The Daktaris’ cover of ‘Upside Down’ is an example of the Afro-beat revival of recent years, whilst The Whitefield Brothers ‘Lullaby For Lagos’ pushes the psychedelic elements of Fela's sonic brew.

Most interesting though are tracks from Latin America and the Caribbean, taking Fela's already eclectic influences and adding their own twist. Trinidadian steel band Lever Brothers Gay Flamingoes’ medley of ‘Egbi Mi O/Black Man's Cry’ loses none of the power of the originals whilst managing to sound like a carnival standard, perhaps explaining the subsequent cover by Sylvania East Side Symphony. With Colombian bands providing two versions of ‘Shakara’, adding cumbia rhythms and accordion to the mix, this compilation proves just how widespread Fela's influence has been. Even if it's taken some this long to notice.