Otomewo Oritsejolomi
Around 7pm on Thursday evening at the New Afrika Shrine located at the heart of Ikeja is buzzing, people are trying to get into the latest addition to the myriad of activities that make up the busy Lagos nightlife, a Made Kuti live rehearsal with his band The Movement. The New Afrika shrine, built to replace the Africa Shrine at Surulere which was burnt down by the Obasanjo military government, was opened by Femi Kuti in October 2000 on the third anniversary of his father’s death. It has since played host to performances of Femi Kuti and his positive force band, Seun Kuti, and Felabration; the annual celebration to commemorate the life of Fela. Omorinmade Kuti, Fela’s grandson is the new presence to grace the famous
stage.
Around 8pm Made comes on stage and the show begins. As he serenades the crowd with a string of his songs from Enemy to No more wars. When he gets to Free Your Mind, his dancers move gracefully, gyrating to the rambunctious tune from the band, the crowd letting go of all inhibitions becomes a joyful frenzy of moving bodies in response and obedience to the lyrics of the song which demand that you “free your mind and set your soul free.” As the song finishes there is an interlude filled with chants of “Made don’t stop!” Just before he segues into the next song and the dancing continues, somewhere during the performance, his shirt comes off.
Made Kuti’s music has the same characteristics of his father, his uncle and his grandfather before him; sweet heady tunes carrying a socially conscious message. It seems to be a feature of the family and also what attracts his fans. Segun, a 60 year old driver, comes to the Shrine regularly to the Shrine to watch Made’s rehearsals and the message in the music is the magnet pulling him in. “The first time I heard Made perform was during the lockdown and ever since I’ve paid attention to him. His songs are very meaningful, and they carry a message, not like all these other young musicians that only sing about bumbum, he sings
about important issues like police brutality and unity. I’m not surprised he is like his father and grandfather, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.”
For the majority of fans who come to watch him perform, the quality of the music, not the message in it, is the endearing factor. According to Cynthia, a 21 year old student of Unilag,
he is a very skillful musician. “Anytime I see the flyer announcing an upcoming rehearsal, I make plans to attend except I’m really busy. His music is just too good, he studied music at university and it shows. He can play the saxophone, trumpet, piano and drums and his performances blend everything together so nicely. The best part about it, is that he plays with a live band not autotune like your favourite artist.”
Eventually the music ends and the show is over, the people who came into the Shrine tired from a long day at the office leave invigorated, excitedly talking at the top of their voices about the music and the creator of the music. It seems certain that for the next generation the musical legacy of the Kuti family is secure
Free Your mind is my jam
🔥🔥🔥
I really can’t wait to see him perform at Felabration this year.
Great read 💯
Not surprised he plays so many instruments, Fela was like that too
I should make plans to attend one of his shows
He is actually really good, my best song of his, is New Dimension ft Laycon