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Fela Kuti Men's Tee Yellow on Black Email Request to griotapparel@gmail.com - - - About This Shirt: Wearing a design about a real historical subject like Fela Kuti (1938-1997) begs the question, "Who's on your shirt?" There is a real answer, documented and studied. Born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti in Abeokuta, Nigeria to middle class family. He grew to become known as Fela Anikulapo Kuti, "The Black President," the human rights activist and pioneering composer of Afro-beat. Fela released 77 albums in his life, spoke out against the insularity of the two party system in Nigeria, spoke against the brutality of military and police force across Africa, and was targeted by the government of Nigeria for his dissent. Fela attempted to found a third party, the MOP or Movement of the People, to work against institutionalized corruption in Nigeria and twice ran for President, in 1979 and again in 1983. His candidature was refused both times but he continuously spoke his conscience. His father was a reverend and a teacher. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was a feminist activist who took her son to rallies for Nigerian sovereignty when he was young. Nigeria won independence from the British in 1960. In 1977, Funmilayo died from injuries incurred after being thrown from a window by a Nigerian soldier during a seige on Fela's commune and recording studio, known as the Kalakuta Republic, near Lagos. Fela was severely beaten and several of his wives were raped during that same attack. From 1966 until 1999, Nigeria was ruled by military dictators who seized power in either coups d'État or counter-coups. But even during the period of exception to military rule, during Nigeria's second republic which lasted from 1979 until 1983, Fela and his followers were brutilized at the hands of the military. Fela's mother struggled with him against colonialism's legacy in Africa through her old age and until her death. A sense of compassion, aggression, and sexuality always permeated Fela's life and sound. He settled upon a career in music over medicine while studying in London. He became a vocal internationalist and an active proponent of black power in his later youth, especially after trips to the United States and Ghana. He described ethnically-charged violence against civilians across his home continent as "un-African" and felt the Nigerian military in particular was being staffed and stocked with "Zombies." Fela urged a black humanism and political awareness among common men. He called music a political weapon.
Art/Design by Julia Cocuzza Research by Dropout/Postgrad
More on Fela: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNmOHVBDyOk BBC.co.uk
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