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A reading by writer
and academic Sola Olorunyomi, forming the literary component of a
week-long celebration of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, was held at The Life
House, Lagos, on April 22. Olorunyomi, a lecturer of Media and
Performance Studies at the University of Ibadan’s Institute of African
Studies, was at the venue to read his book on the late afrobeat great,
‘Fela and the Imagined Continent’.

The event was
moderated by Ugoma Adegoke of The Life House and had in attendance
critic, Lolade Bamidele; art aficionado, Olajide Bello; and visual
artist, Mudi Yahaya. Also present were Weyinmi Atigbi and Lemi
Ghariokwu, both of whom were exhibiting their artwork in ‘Art of
Rebellion’, also on display at The Life House. Ghariokwu was the man
responsible for many of Fela’s iconic album sleeve designs. The
exhibition, as well as the Sola Olorunyomi reading, were part of the
‘Fela in The Life House’ series of events held to coincide with the
‘Fela!’ musical, which played to Lagos audiences from April 20 to 25.

Fire Dance

Olorunyomi’s
research assistant, Osariemen Amas–Edobor, opened the reading with a
short excerpt, ‘Fire Dance’, from ‘Fela and the Imagined Continent’.
Then followed the author’s own reading. The book celebrates the
legendary Fela, his ingenuity at music fusion and his brilliant
performances on stage. The author informed that the book was written
out of a keen interest in the icon’s music, and a fascination at the
energy displayed by Fela and his band during the days of Kalakuta
Republic.

“I thought the
energy could only be crystallised in writing,” said Olorunyomi, who
added that Fela’s ability to depict his country powerfully through
music was also a contributing factor in the writing of the book. Fela,
he noted, “was relating to those commonalities he found in the
country.” The writer however observed that Fela’s life cannot be fully
documented, and so ‘Fela and the Imagined Continent’ is not a
biography. “It seemed to me that if I resigned my fate to Fela’s
business, I wouldn’t finish it in a lifetime,” he said.

As for the Fela
biography proper, Olorunyomi disclosed that he was writing one around
the time of the musician’s death. Still a work-in-progress, the author
hopes the book, to be titled ‘Muse, Man and Music’, will be published
soon.

Universal Afrobeat

During an
interactive segment with listeners after the reading, Olorunyomi
disclosed that he had come across many misconceptions about Fela before
he met the man. “The Fela image we got then was larger than life. We
heard that his mother was a witch,” the author recalled, adding that he
was so in awe of the musician that he could not wait to meet him. “I
thought he was too great to be close to him. I respected him a great
deal,” he said.

Olorunyomi noted
that Fela was very versatile musically and his work can be appreciated
by a wide range of people. “You can read Fela in different ways, from a
creative distance and from your faith,” he said.

There was an
attempt to grasp the extent of Fela’s continuing relevance and fame,
even in death. Olorunyomi shared his experience of a European lady who
passed out during a discussion of the afrobeat legend in Denmark – the
author’s way of showing how much of a household name Fela has become
across the world.

Next generation

He bemoaned the
poor state of afrobeat music in Nigeria, and blamed it on the younger
generation who are not interested in the genre. “Ironically, I think
that the next generation of afrobeat isn’t likely to come from
Nigeria,” he stated. Olorunyomi nonetheless expressed optimism that
interest in afrobeat may be revived as a result of events like the
‘Fela!’ Broadway show.

“Since [afrobeat]
is no longer a national project, it is a universal project, it may just
get repackaged from there and come back,” he affirmed.

Olayioye Simoyan, a young hip-hop artist in the gathering, agreed with the writer’s views on afrobeat and the next generation.

“I think Fela is a
beautiful musician, he knows how to propagate his [work] but the way he
arranges the music doesn’t spark this generation,” Simoyan said, adding
that Femi Kuti appeals more to the younger generation because of his
fusion of afrobeat with genres like hip-hop. “That is why we prefer
Femi, because he is more of us. He uses rhymes and uses metaphors.”
Citing the dearth of rhymes in afrobeat, the hip-hopp artist declared,
with apologies to Olorunyomi and the older generation in the house,
that, “Then, [afrobeat] was cool but now, it is no longer cool.”
Olorunyomi understood the sentiments and concurred with Simoyan’s
statement that the younger generation prefers the rap style of rhyming.
The author however insisted that it is not entirely true that afrobeat
excludes rap.

“Even the rap tradition in Nigeria references afrobeat a great deal,” he asserted.

The event ended on a cheerful note, with Olorunyomi reiterating that Fela was the best in his trade and cannot be replicated.