Fela Kuti -- The Best Of The Black President, vol. 2

So I once was fortunate enough to be working at a used record store in Phoenix when someone traded in 10 CDs by Fela Kuti, each a "two-fer" (two albums on one disc).  I knew enough about world music then to know I needed these, so I bought 'em all ... and then promptly forgot about them for several years.  Fela Kuti was a Nigerian musician active between the 1960s and his death in 1997 whose music was uncompromisingly radical in its socialist, anti-colonial and anti-military politics.  Once I finally got around to listening to Kuti, the experience was every bit as exciting and satisfying as many critics have described his music. I've since gone on to collect several more CDs by Kuti (and I love 'em all), so I was most intrigued by the copy of Best Of The Black President I saw at the library one day....

Fela!

I was at the matinee performance of the Broadway musical Fela! at Centennial Hall on Saturday.  I had been looking forward to the performance since Christmas, when I received tickets as a very thoughtful present from my sister.  Even after eagerly anticipating the show for months, the performance did not disappoint me at all.  The music and dance, inspired by the larger-than-life life of Nigerian musician and social activist Fela Kuti, was wonderfully engaging and compelling.  Read on to hear more about the performance and the dynamic life of the creator of Afrobeat music, Fela Kuti.