Fela Kuti - Music is the Weapon (Best of)

(Wrasse Records 2004)

This box set contains a double music CD and a DVD directed by Stephane Tchal-Gadjieff and Jean Jacques Flori. Fela Kuti's influence on black contemporary music cannot be overestimated; virtually all modern forms of black music (from funk to electronic) owe something to his irresistible Afrobeat groove.

Filmed in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1982, the 53-minute documentary mixes footage of Fela Anikulapo Kuti performing at his Shrine nightclub, interviews with the controversial musician, glimpses of life at his not-so-palatial Kalakuta Republic compound, and scenes of Lagos street life. Fela recorded over 70 albums during his lifetime, all mythic. The film includes previously unreleased versions of 'ITT', 'Power Show', 'Army Arrangement', and a live version of 'Authority Stealing'. Accompanying the DVD is a 2-disc collection of Kuti's best-known songs.

Reviewer : Rita Ray

Water Get No Enemy (clip)