Name: Zombie
Brand: Fela Kuti

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

1000149781

Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2016-10-14

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Unive­rsal

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

720841206118

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Total Cap

9999

Black LP

Artist

Fela Kuti

Genre US

African

Label US

Partisan Records

Fela Kuti, born on 15 October 1938 in Abeokuta, Nigeria, was a legendary musician and human rights revolutionary. He formed his first group Koola Lobitos in 1963 and later changed the name to Afrika 70. Fela's vision and collaboration with key members like drummer Tony Allen ensured that the jazz, funk, and afrobeat style remained consistent throughout the decades. Known for his political activism, Fela started his own party to protest corruption in Nigeria. His influence on funk and African music is unparalleled, with a discography of approximately 77 albums.

After visiting America in 1969, Fela returned to Nigeria and opened club Afro Spot in Lagos. He collaborated with renowned musicians such as Ginger Baker and Bobby Tench from The Jeff Beck Group on notable albums like "Ginger Baker Live with Afrika 70" (1971) and "Stratavarious" (1972). In 1981, he renamed his group Egypt 80.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti, formerly known as Fela Ransome-Kuti until about 1978, was not only a musical icon but also a symbol of resistance against oppression. He established his own compound called the Kalakuta Republic in Lagos which he declared independent from Nigeria. However, this led to constant harassment by the government towards him and his numerous wives.

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Reissues

The fury stirred up among the Nigerian police and military by Fela's confrontational Alagbon Close (1974) and Kalakuta Show (1976), and the beatings and harassments Fela and Africa 70 suffered as a consequence, were as nothing compared to the reprisals following 1976's Zombie. Within months of its release, a brutal army attack left Fela's Kalakuta Republic compound burnt to the ground and many of its residents, including Fela, assaulted and seriously injured. On the title track, over an urgent, quick-march accompaniment from Afrika 70, Fela and the backup singers ridicule the mindset of men in uniform. "Attention! Quick march! Slow march! Salute!" sings Fela, "Fall in! Fall out! Fall down! Go and kill! Go and die! Go and quench!" Each phrase is followed by the women singers' taunting response, "Zombie!" Fela continues: "No brains, no job, no sense joro jara jo; tell am to go kill joro jara jo; tell am to go quench joro jara jo (meaning, "no brains, no job, no sense left right left; tell him to go kill left right left; tell him to go die left right left.") The army's response was terrible... On 18 February, 1977, around 1,000 soldiers, most of them armed, swooped on Kalakuta. They cordoned off the surrounding area, broke down the wire fence around the community's buildings, and battered their way into the central structure. Occupants were stripped and barbarously abused: particularly unfortunate men had their testicles beaten with rifle butts; particularly unfortunate women were raped (another had her nipples crushed between stones). Fela was badly beaten, sustaining a fractured skull and several broken bones. His mother, then aged 77, was thrown out of a window, fracturing a leg and suffering deep trauma. The army then set fire to the compound and prevented the fire brigade reaching the area. The blaze gutted the premises, destroying six Afrika 70 vehicles, all Fela's master tapes and band equipment, a four-track recording studio, all the residents' belongings and, for good measure, the free medical clinic run by Fela's brother, Dr Beko Ransome Kuti (who was also severely beaten in the attack). The first journalists to arrive on the scene were assaulted by soldiers. Inquisitive passers-by were similarly set upon. The army didn't want any witnesses.

Zombie

Music US

Discover Zombie by Fela Kuti on LP format from Partisan Records. A powerful album confronting social issues with a tragic backstory.