President Bola Tinubu on Sunday, honored Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, describing him as more than just a musician and a fearless voice for the people during his time.
This tribute came after Fela received a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys, making him the first African artist to be recognized in this way.
Fela, who had numerous confrontations with various governments in Nigeria, was acknowledged nearly thirty years after his passing, long after his impact had transformed global music.
“Fela was more than a musician,” Tinubu stated the day following the award ceremony in Los Angeles.
“He was a bold voice for the people, a philosopher of freedom, and a revolutionary force whose music challenged injustice and changed the global sound,” he continued.
“The award confirms his lasting global influence and the crucial role he played in shaping Africa’s impact on modern music,” he added.
In the 1970s, Fela, a multi-instrumentalist, created Afrobeat, a genre that fuses jazz, funk, and African rhythms.
This innovation paved the way for Afrobeats, a later genre that has gained international popularity by combining traditional African beats with modern pop sounds, originating from Nigeria.
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Fela’s children, including Femi Kuti, accepted the award in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
Davido, a prominent figure in the global Afrobeats scene, was also seen with the Kuti family at the event.
Fela’s grandson, Made Kuti, who was nominated for a Grammy in 2022, remarked that his grandfather “was on par with the greatest musicians in history.”
“There are very few individuals you can identify as the originators of a music style who took such risks and displayed such creativity that it has truly evolved into a genre of its own,” he said from his home in Lagos on Sunday.
