Like many musicians with famous parents, Seun Kuti probably struggles to step out from their shadow. He is probably still best known as Fela's son. Unlike many of his peers, however, he makes excellent records and deserves to be admired in his own right.
Stylistically Seun hasn't fallen far from the tree, perhaps unsurprisingly as he inherited his Dad's old band Egypt 80 when Fela died in 1997 (he was 16 at the time). His sound has been getting a bit more diverse over time though and his latest album "Heavier Yet" features collaborations with the likes of Kamasi Washington, Sampa The Great and fellow nepo baby Damian Marley.
"Heavier Yet" and its predecessor "Black Times" can be found on Seun's Bandcamp page but his earlier albums cannot. So to help you plug the gap here is a track apiece from "From Africa With Fury: Rise" (2011) and "A Long Way To The Beginning" (2014).
Listeners of a delicate nature are warned that "IMF" contains multiple rude words. Suffice to say that according to Seun MF doesn't stand for Monetary Fund.
"The Good Leaf" - Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
"IMF (with M-1)" - Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
Originally this post was going to be called "Like Father, Like Seun" but I changed it to give me an excuse to include this video. Not that I really need an excuse of course.
Two great tracks and the reason why you should listen to African music from time to time. And thank you Ernie for sharing this video.
ReplyDeleteThe Good Life is absolutely brilliant.
ReplyDelete7digital have both albums, and more, a ta very reasonable price (€5.19 for From Africa....)
DeleteI am looking forward to your post about Christina Aguilera so you can include another Chicory Trip video
ReplyDeleteHad to google their discography for that one. Forgot about it all together.
DeleteHaving seen Seun perform a couple months ago (and having seen his father and his brother Femi Kuti), I can say that Seun is definitely his father's son as a band leader and multi-instrumentalist. He has a strong sense of economic justice, but also a great sense of humor. His stories between the songs were very entertaining, and his band was hot!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I missed him when he played London last year but definitely want to see him when he is next over here.
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