Fela Kuti's Water No Get Enemy

Fela Kuti, a Nigerian highlife and pioneer of the Afrobeat sound, recorded "Water No Get Enemy" for his Expensive Shit in 1975. Kuti's album was a direct response to the Nigerian government's attack on his compound, the Kalakuta Republic, resulting in the death of his mother and his arrest. This specific song is a political message to Nigeria, to the entire world, that the lifeblood of a nation is its people, just as water is the lifeblood for humanity. Through the jazzy (yet also irresistibly funky) song he sings in a pidgin English-Yoruba (presumably Yoruba) and plays his best keyboard solo I have ever heard. Personally, I think Kuti was probably a better saxophonist, but his jazzy, ethereal electric keyboard soars elegantly above the African groove. If you haven't heard it, check it out here and I guarantee you will be dancing. Anywho, Fela Kuti is a fascinating man, coming from a middle-class Yoruba background which included relatives such as Nobel Prize-winning writer Wole Soyinka, doctors, activists, and musicians. I have compiled a list of West African songs, including many by Fela and his 1960s highlife band, Koola Lobitos, on youtube here. Beginning in the late 1960s, presumably after some exposure to American funk and a record in LA, Fela's music shifted more to the growing preferences among young African-Americans for funk music, which led to Afrobeat.

D'Angelo, Macy Gray, and Fela's son, Femi, also recorded the song again in the 1990s. D'Angelo and Macy Gray were part of the 1990s "neo-soul" wave in contemporary R&B, and do a surprisingly good job in the Afrobeat context. Perhaps the reason they succeed here really lies in Femi Kuti's brilliance and ability to carry on the legacy of his politically conscious, pan-Africanist father. Unfortunately, last spring I missed an opportunity to hear Seun Kuti, Fela's other son, perform for free at UW-Madison due to my own ignorance and fear of attending alone. Anywho, listen to their tribute to Fela Kuti here, although the keyboard solo is not as great as Fela's. Did I mention this was part of a larger tribute album, Red Hot + Riot from 2002 to fundraise AIDS awareness (Fela Kuti died in 1997 because of AIDS complications).

Hip-hop has also been a big fan of Fela's music, including Pete Rock sampling "Water" for INl's "Grown Man Sport." The song only samples the keyboard solo for a loop of Fela and features the hip-hop group rapping over it. I know little of Inl, but Pete Rock is the famed hip-hop producer responsible for timeless beats such as "T.R.O.Y.," which should be listened to here.