Long crowned by his legion of fans as the king of Afrobeat, the late Fela Kuti is finally being recognized by the global music industry.
The Nigerian star will posthumously receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys—almost three decades after his death at the age of 58.
Fela has been in the hearts of the people for such a long time. Now the Grammys have acknowledged it, and it's a double victory, his musician son Seun Kuti tells the BBC.
It's bringing balance to a Fela story, he adds.
Rikki Stein, a long-time friend and manager of the late musician, says the recognition by the Grammys is better late than never.
Africa hasn't in the past rated very highly in their interests. I think that's changing quite a bit of late, Stein tells the BBC.
Following the global success of Afrobeats, a genre inspired by Fela's sound, the Grammys introduced the category of Best African Performance in 2024.
This year, Nigerian superstar Burna Boy also has a nomination in the Best Global Music Album category.
But Fela Kuti will be the first African to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, albeit posthumously. The award was first presented in 1963 to American singer and actor Bing Crosby.
Other musicians who will receive the award this year include Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana, Chaka Khan, the American singer known as the Queen of Funk, and Paul Simon.
Fela Kuti's family, friends, and colleagues will be attending the Grammys to receive his award.
The global human tapestry needs this, not just because it's my father, Seun Kuti tells the BBC.
Stein says it is important to recognize Fela as a man who championed the cause of people who had drawn life's short straw, adding that he castigated any form of social injustice, corruption, and mismanagement in government. So it would be impossible to ignore that aspect of Fela's legacy, he tells the BBC.
For Fela Anikulapo Kuti was not simply a musician, but also a cultural theorist, political agitator, and the undisputed architect of Afrobeat—blending West African rhythms, jazz, funk, highlife, and politically charged lyricism into a potent sound.
Across a career spanning roughly three decades until his death in 1997, Fela Kuti released more than 50 albums and built a body of work that fused music with ideology, rhythm with resistance, and performance with protest.
His music incurred the wrath of Nigeria's then-military regimes. In 1977, after the release of the album Zombie, his compound in Lagos, known as Kalakuta Republic, was raided, his mother brutally injured, leading to her eventual death due to complications from the assault.
Fela Kuti responded through music and defiance, with songs like Coffin for Head of State turning his personal grief into political protest. His ideology blended pan-Africanism, anti-imperialism, and African-rooted socialism, greatly influenced by his mother and activists he encountered.
Stein recalls Fela’s performances as immersive, where music transcended spectacle, forming a communal experience. He cultivated a band with an acute focus on political consciousness alongside musical prowess. Fela tuned every instrument himself; for him, music was a mission.
Today, Kuti's influence is evident in contemporary artists such as Burna Boy, Kendrick Lamar, and Idris Elba, whose work echoes Fela's groundbreaking fusion of sound and message.
As the first African to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys, Fela Kuti's legacy continues to resonate, exemplifying the lasting power of music as a tool for change and expression.
