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Seun Kuti
© Fabien Maisonneuve

Many Things


Many Things He might only be 25 but Seun Kuti’s growing army of fans have been waiting for his inaugural album with the impatience of an area boy for a naira bill. And they won’t be disappointed with this first effort. A nervous, hard-edged and racy tempo balances sweetly with self-assurance, a brooding yet composed anger and a highly-professional discipline. Kuti has matured into a startlingly modern version of his father. He has taken on board the universality of Fela’s message without ever losing sight of the challenges that his native Nigeria still face.
But it would be unfair to overlook the collective effort these seven long songs represent. And it is to the credit of this outspoken singer that he has not hesitated to turn to the doyens of Fela’s Egypt 80 band, musicians who were kingpins in his father’s global success. From one of the original companions, Lekan Animashaun, to the baritone saxophonist Showboy, we can enjoy the multiplicity of talents that this band of 18 musicians harbours. Add to this the rock-solid brass section, the remarkable trumpet-playing of Emmanuel Kunnuji and the biting lyrics from Seun and friends - and you have a sure recipe for an Afrobeat hit that Seun’s iconic dad would be proud of.
This is not to say that Many Things is a blind and faithful replica of Fela’s recording legacy. Young Seun has his own vocal timbre and while he replicates with ease some of the saxophone hooks of his father, his playing is very much his own. The influences of the likes of Wyclef Jean, DMX and Eminem also slip into these compositions with their in-your-face defiance. “I want to make Afrobeat for my generation,” he is quoted as saying. “Instead of “get up and fight” it’s going to be “get up and think”. My generation’s not thinking.”
These songs should give his peers plenty of food for thought. Kuti and his colleagues discuss corruption, malaria, lack of infrastructure in Africa, stolen oil money, the manipulation of soldiers and female sensuality. This last subject, described in “Fire Dance” was penned in by sound engineer and producer Godwin Logie. It is one of the album’s rare “lighter” moments as clearly Seun has not curtailed any of the outraged energy Fela nurtured. The unlimited use of the word “shit” reflects the mire his country remains stuck in and Seun pulls no punches here. It is in the title track, arguably the album’s best song, that the singer rips away the veneer of “successes” under the Obasanjo regime to reveal what is happening underneath the new bridges built, or new education plans, health plans, pledges for democracy, and the lot:
“When I see the way my people dey live, under bridge and on top of water
When I see the nonsense things, nonsense things our leaders dey do
When I see the oga of police in prison for stealing
When I hear education minister in scandal for stealing
....Wey tire me pass anything.”
You don’t need to know pidgin English to get Seun’s message.

March 26th 2008

Daniel Brown


  

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