Name: Beasts of No Nation
Brand: Fela Kuti

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

LP-KFR-2043

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Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2015-10-16

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Redeye

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

720841205616

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

Artist

Fela Kuti

Genre US

African

Label US

Knitting Factory

Fela Kuti, born on 15 October 1938 in Abeokuta, Nigeria, was a legendary musician and human rights revolutionary. He formed his first group Koola Lobitos in 1963 and later changed the name to Afrika 70. Fela's vision and collaboration with key members like drummer Tony Allen ensured that the jazz, funk, and afrobeat style remained consistent throughout the decades. Known for his political activism, Fela started his own party to protest corruption in Nigeria. His influence on funk and African music is unparalleled, with a discography of approximately 77 albums.

After visiting America in 1969, Fela returned to Nigeria and opened club Afro Spot in Lagos. He collaborated with renowned musicians such as Ginger Baker and Bobby Tench from The Jeff Beck Group on notable albums like "Ginger Baker Live with Afrika 70" (1971) and "Stratavarious" (1972). In 1981, he renamed his group Egypt 80.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti, formerly known as Fela Ransome-Kuti until about 1978, was not only a musical icon but also a symbol of resistance against oppression. He established his own compound called the Kalakuta Republic in Lagos which he declared independent from Nigeria. However, this led to constant harassment by the government towards him and his numerous wives.

Beasts Of No Nation, originally released in 1989, was an indictment of the corruption and repression in post-colonial Africa. The album, whose single track took up both sides of the vinyl LP, addressed a variety of targets, each of them, said Fela, guilty of enslaving Africans: the Nigerian regime, the South African apartheid regime of P.W. Botha, Britain's Margaret Thatcher, America's Ronald Reagan, and the ineffectual United Nations. In addition to being vilified in the lyrics, Botha, Thatcher and Reagan are among the political leaders portrayed as beasts and devils on the front sleeve​.

Beasts of No Nation

Music US

Buy Fela Kuti - Beasts of No Nation (Vinyl, CD) now from Rough Trade - independent purveyors of great music, since 1976.