Fela Anikulapo Kuti was not just a musician chasing the fame and the name, Fela was a prophet on a mission to help liberate his people.
With the kind of audacity that made James Baldwin, and a vision that drove the likes of Martin Luther King, Fela set out fearlessly to take on, heads on, the sharp claws of the military juntas of the 80s and 90s in Nigeria, who had limitless powers and took out whoever dared to oppose their often nefarious ideas and intentions.
After Fela released his album Zombie which took a direct shot at the entire military, a retaliatory invasion was carried on his Kalakuta Republic home by members of the armed forces. Properties were destroyed and Fela’s mother, old Funmilayo Ransome Kuti -- the mother of Nigeria -- was thrown out of a storey building window.
The record, Sorrows Tears and Blood describes the chaos at the raid.
“Police don go away
Army don disappear
Them leave sorrow, tears and blood
Them regular trademark”
- Fela Kuti, Sorrows Tears and Blood
You will agree this is a big big song, that has a huge place in Nigeria’s history.
Now my cover.
Chord Progression
Intro: (Capo on 1st Fret, Standard Tuning) E2 - A2 - Dmaj7 - G7
Verse 1 Gmaj - Cmaj - Amin - D7
Verse 2 E7 - Amin6 - Dmaj7 - G7 - E7 - Amin6 - Dmaj7 - G7
I hope you enjoy my version of that huge song, and my first entry into Steemit Openmic.
Few notes, I deliberately appeared minimally clad in clothing to, hopefully, give it a little of Fela feel. Hahahaha. The incomplete brick building is attached to my parent's house and it's where I get the most inspired. And I had to record in 240p to make it lighter to upload with crappy internet. Lastly, worth mentioning I got this on the first take.
With love from Nigeria,
Mfoniso Udeme
This acoustic version gave the song a different feel, nice piece you've shared with us, it was really refreshing.
Like Fela said
I wish we had more of his like, maybe things would be different right now.
Thank you @hay-bam. Fela was a gift to us from God. I know he is smiling now in heaven.
Wonderful entry into the open mic! I feel your warmth through your smile. First I have to say thank you so much for taking some time in the post body itself, to include the backstory of the song/artist you are covering, to include the lyrics, and especially to include the chord progression! That is going above and beyond the call of duty. Thanks for setting a shining example for other new entrants into this amazing contest.
On to your song - my only constructive criticism would be to tune your guitar first, but it being slightly out of tune in no way detracted from my enjoyment. You are a solid player and I really liked your vocal style and singing voice. Terrific performance! The reception you have received here in terms of upvotes and pending payout is very well deserved! Following you and looking forward to more of your awesome music in my feed :)
Much love - Carl
I really appreciate this comment Carl. Thank you so much, I'll make sure my guitar is well tuned next time. Thank you.
I really enjoyed this acoustic version.....you made it your song and i do imagine how #Fela would have sounded with an acoustic guitar.
Thanks man
Great song and performance. The history behind it is fascinating. I like that you added the chord progressions. Welcome to Steemit Open Mic.
Wow, this is interesting, but quite simplified, i preferred the original though. You turned it from afrobeat to RnB, lol. . .
@eileenbeach has voted on behalf of @minnowpond. If you would like to recieve upvotes from minnowponds team on all your posts, simply FOLLOW @minnowpond.
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Thank you for that correction. Must have been an error while copying to paste. Corrected now <3
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STOPNow this is a beautiful piece, and quite a unique cover. Fela must be impressed with his immortality 😉
Thanks for the post and very nice
very good song congratulation and the interpretation
Great heart, thanks for sharing
now this what i call.. strings of beauty ..
THANK YOU FOR THIS
Sounds great, and thank you for sharing the chords and history behind the song
I Congratulate you on this great blog
Keep going my friend
Great Video.
nice brother
lovely work my friend thanks for sharing your sound with us, just beautiful
Genius is a great post, so you countless
Thank you so much for fun, funny writing. I'm a general steemit user. I want to follow the wonderful people like you. Please give me upvote and follow me.