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Kuti family keeps up Fela's Afrobeat legacy
Nearly 25 years after the death of Nigerian music legend Fela Kuti, his son Femi and grandson Made are taking his Afrobeat sound to the United States.
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Made Kuti sings during a rehearsal session with his band 'The Movement' at the New Africa Shrine in Ikeja, Lagos, on January 19, 2022. (AFP/Benson Ibeabuchi)
In the Kuti family, music is clearly in the genes.
Nearly 25 years after the death of Nigerian music legend Fela Kuti, his son Femi and grandson Made are taking his Afrobeat sound to the United States.
With their double album Legacy +, the father and son duo have been nominated for this year's Grammys, hoping to win the Global Music category in the US music awards in Los Angeles on Monday.
It is the first Grammy nomination for Made Kuti, 26, but the fifth for Femi, who started his career at the age of 17 alongside his famous father. Femi Kuti's younger brother Seun Kuti was also nominated in 2018.
The new album is divided into two parts -- one for the father, the other for the son, who plays all the instruments on his section, from the saxophone and drums to the trumpet and piano.
"My music is very influenced by what I listened to as a child, that's obviously my grandfather, my father and my uncle," Made told AFP in an interview at the Shrine, Fela's famous Lagos concert venue.
On the stage, shirtless and with a saxophone strapped across his chest, Made bears a striking resemblance to his grandfather, who commanded a strong stage presence often with his face painted.
