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Not quite two weeks
after his presence at the London debut of the Fela! Musical, Femi Kuti
was back at the Barbican, with his Positive Force Band to give the
Western world a taste of his new album, ‘Africa for Africa’.

Billed to start at
7pm, the audience was kept in breathless anticipation for a whole hour
while they valiantly persisted through several tracks performed by
British rap group, ‘Sound of Rum’.

Finally a shout of
Arararara galvanised the crowd to near euphoria as the Positive Force
jogged onstage in their matching African attires. And the anticipation
in the hall rose to fever pitch as the 10-member band began tuning up.

Femi, onstage, was
a delight to watch. Dressed in a multi coloured African attire, he
hurried onstage, rubbed his hands together as if in pure delight before
bending over his keyboard, shaking his head appreciatively as he
pounded the keys and issued forth the opening strains of ‘Truth Don
Die’.

The already
standing crowd seemed to surge forward as his mellow voice stole
through the instrumental sounds: “Na yesterday him talk, him wan to
travel for the world, to teach the people him word the true word of God
make people stop to lie say na lie spoil the world.”

Witnessing Femi’s
quiet opening and the energy with which he danced, he seemed both
intense and frail, and one could only wonder how he would last the
evening, as his physical appearance seemed not quite able to contain
the passions that streamed through his being. But the musician
surprised, and continued to do so, during the almost two-hour
performance, backed by his dancers cum back up singers.

‘Politics in Africa’

After his popular
opening track, Femi introduces songs from his new album. “I’ll be
concentrating on the new album. I’ll save the rest of my political
views when you have warmed up to me.”

But divorcing Femi
from politics was like taking away his voice. ‘Politics in Africa’ and
other politically critical songs followed in quick succession.
Including ‘Obasanjo Don Play You Wayo’, his take on the EFCC; and ‘Make
We Remember’, a song urging that the messages of his late father and
other black political activists should not be forgotten.

Femi sang, danced,
and played as if an internal inferno burnt under his skin. He belted
his music in a frenetic hurry. Where Fela had brandished his sax, Femi
showed almost more affection for his keyboard, vibrating his whole body
as he urgently picked out the notes; though when he briefly turned his
attention to his sax, it was with equal fervour.

Having never seen
him in performance before, I had always been wont to think that Femi’s
achievements had had a lot to gain from the legacy of his father. This
performance changed my opinion. He might have learnt from the master
himself, but his accomplishments were all his. Kora awards, World Cup
showcase, and a feature in the international videogame, Grand Theft
Auto IV, seemed paltry reward for his talent

But the music soon
streamed together into one long political complaint. Diversity seemed
not to be the strong suit of this new album. And even though his stage
presence and enthusiasm were infectious, the music soon became
predictable. That was before Femi turned his scathing tongue to history
and the developed world.

“It’s impossible to
understand the gravity of the slave trade, he said, “500 years is about
seven generations. Africans blame themselves for the slave trade,
that’s wrong information,” Comparing the transatlantic trade to the six
years of anti-Semitism, Femi would have us believe that the holocaust
was a lesser evil which benefitted from visual records. “What is six
years compared to 500?” he asked.

To have jettisoned
from memory the centuries of undocumented Jewish persecution in his
attempt to absolve Africans of their historical wrongdoings, seemed to
induce a brief disagreeable silence in the crowd, except of course for
some Nigerian fans who whooped in appreciation of his logic.

‘Beng Beng Beng’

While Femi might
have raised eyebrows mid-performance by his cavalier dismissal of one
of the worst times in world history, he soon had the audience dancing
to his tune yet again as he commenced a sexual enlightenment monologue
heralded by the beginning instrumentals of ‘Beng Beng Beng’.

“It’s impossible to
talk about politics without talking about sex. Who here has been
practicing my theory: Don’t come too fast?” asked Femi to appreciative
hoots by the audience, many of whom had been shouting out requests for
the song since he came onstage.

Femi led his avid
listeners into a sexual scenario of a girl’s first sexual experience:
“That girls have always been ahead of us (men) is a scientific fact
that has not been proven yet. So when a girl seems remorseful after a
sexual encounter, the boy thinks he’s had her cheap. He doesn’t
understand that he gave her bad sex – so gentlemen, don’t come too
fast!

“When you are
approaching or losing control, press the brake, reverse back,” Femi
admonished, eliciting raucous laughter before launching into the song
which is till date perhaps his most popular, despite having been
restricted from Nigerian airwaves soon after its release.

“The time is 12
midnight my brother, the girl lay on top my bed now…,” the audience
sang along as they gyrated to the popular track.

Says Robin Denselow
of The Guardian, UK, “Towards the end, he switched from politics to sex
with ‘Beng Beng Beng’ and a mildly risqué chat about relationships that
was more entertaining and original than much of the political protest.”

And one could not agree more.