On the morning of November 4 as we left Washington DC, we flipped on Music is a Weapon, a documentary following Fela Kuti, a musician who once ran for president of Nigeria.  Fela is a huge influence on the music that we have been creating, especially to Dahlak who has recently been dipping his toes in production.

Dubbed as the Father of Afrobeat, Fela was a singer and musician who used his art to influence politics in an unprecidented manner.  Determined to change the direction of his home country of Nigeria, he put himself forward as a presidential candidate in 1979 but was refused and treated like an outlaw.  Fela was immensely prolific, recording more albums than have been accounted for, and at a certain point in his career he held daily jam sessions that lasted all night long, and that people from throughout Africa would drive across several countries to witness.

Fela has influenced musicians across the musical spectrum, from Common to Erykah Badu to Red Hot Chili Peppers.  In the fall of 2008 his life was depicted off-Broadway in the musical Fela!, which received critical acclaim and is set for a Broadway run beginning in 2009.

Check out Music is a Weapon above, and let your life be changed.

BLACK GENIUSES is a new section of the iLL-Literacy blog inspired by Dahlak’s song “Black Genius.”