Femi Kuti

One People One World Femi Kuti

Femi Kuti is the heart and soul of modern Afrobeat. Femi's father, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, created the style - a blend of traditional Nigerian drum patterns, the smooth groove of highlife and American soul, funk and R&B - and took it to the world.

One People One World sees Femi returning to the music's African roots. Hints of reggae, highlife, soul, R&B and other African, Caribbean and African American flavors go swirling through the mix, adding depth and complexity to the arrangements, but the influences don't distract from Femi's signature sound.

"When I was a boy, I listened to funk, highlife, jazz, folk songs, classical music and my father's compositions, so you will hear those things in the music, but everything on this record comes strictly from my heart and soul. Like Africa itself, Afrobeat has endless possibilities within its structure. As we play live at The Shrine, the songs evolve, absorbing the energy of the audience. It's like painting, with the changing hues and tones of the dancers coloring the music. When we it take it into the studio, you hear all of those influences moving together."

One People One World is pure Afrobeat, with the potent horn lines Femi created for the band punching up the tempo, driving everything forward at a frenetic pace. The new album is still political but, for the first time, there are love songs and celebrations of our common humanity.

"On this album, I kept to my roots and let the music flow through me, without diluting it. I didn't think funk, or Afrobeat, or anything else. If you hear something in the melodies, it may be there, but as a composer, I surrendered to the higher forces that give me this gift to play music and let it flow out of me."