Next Tuesday, October 15, would have been Fela Kuti’s 75th
birthday. The Nigeria-born Fela was a responsible for bringing
Afrobeat—and world music in general—into the Western world. And though
he passed away in 1997, his legacy still stretches across the globe.
Yesterday saw the release of
Red Hot + Fela, a
new benefit compilation of classic Fela tunes reimagined by the likes
of Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, My Morning Jacket, tUnE-yArDs, Childish
Gambino, Spoek Mathambo, members of TV on the Radio, and a host of
African artists. Fela—whose life was captured in the Broadway musical
Fela!, produced
by Jay Z and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith—is also being remembered in a
series of videos that find all manner of legends, including George
Clinton and Brian Eno.
One of those participants is Paul McCartney, whose new album
New is
about to land in stores. In the exclusive video below, McCartney talks
about a great lost Fela tune that he saw performed live once but has
never been able to track down on record.
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