The son and grandson of the great Fela Kuti join to present a double album of the good stuff, bringing high energy Afrobeat and singing in English with wonderfully strong bursts of universal political and personal affirmation. The two halves are divided into 10 and 8 songs, Femi up first, his half titled Stop the Hate, going straight into disparaging government and corruption, from Pà Pá Pà to Stop the Hate, Land Grab, Privatisation and Set Your Minds and Souls Free. All the time, in a world of problems, his talent to make us dance is still unstoppable. The pace, with fabulous horn section accompaniment and that distinctive guitar accompaniment, rarely lets up, with Femi’s falsetto voice and lyrics pulling no punches.
Made’s half, tiled For(e)ward, signalled by a similar title to the previous, Free Your Mind, is equally upbeat, and was previously highlighted in our New Songs section. With a deeper voice, the next generation of the Kutis, who is another multi-instrumentalist, specialising in saxophone and trumpet, varies the pace, tone, and narration more, slowing things down more often. Perhaps the heart of his section is the powerful, tragic number, Blood, and then Different Streets, which references his grandfather to recall his vision and help seal that legacy. There are some families in which there is music in the blood, and then there’s the Kuti clan who are in their own league. The wonderful work continues onwards. Out on Partisan Records.
Album artwork for Legacy+
Feel free to also check out our favourite albums of 2020 here:
Fiona Apple to Lianne La Havas to Yves Tumor: favourite albums of 2020 – Part 1
Agnes Obel to Bob Dylan, Phoebe Bridgers to Sault: favourite albums of 2020 – Part 2
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