Fela Kuti

Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), or just Fela, was a Nigerian musician and composer who was very important in a genre called afrobeat. He played the saxophone, guitar, drums, keyboards and trumpet, and he sang. He was also a human rights activist. The American singer James Brown said that Kuti was one of the originators (starters) of the funk genre.

Kuti died in 1997 of Kaposi's sarcoma, an illness caused by AIDS. In 2008 a musical production called Fela! was created, about Kuti's life and career.

References

Category:1938 births
Category:1997 deaths
Category:Deaths from AIDS
Category:Disease-related deaths in Nigeria
Category:Drummers
Category:Nigerian guitarists
Category:Deaths from sarcoma
Category:Nigerian singers
Category:Saxophonists
Category:Trumpeters