Artist: Seun Kuti
Seun and his brother Femi are the two successful musical offspring of the late Nigerian afrobeat innovator Fela Kuti. Seun has one younger sister who used to sing in his band. At the age of nine Seun expressed the wish to sing to his father. A short while later Seun started acting as a sort of mascot and would sing a few songs backed by Egypt 80 before his father took to the stage. Since then, Seun has followed the political and social ethos of his father.
After Fela’s death of AIDS in 1997 Seun, then only 14 years old, became the lead singer of Egypt 80. While in school Seun had to choose between a career in music and one in American Football for which he has an outstanding talent. He had a friend performing for crowds too, sometimes consisting of only 3 or 4 people. He honed his musical skills for several years. Those skills were showcased to the world with his 2008 debut album, Many Things, produced by Martin Meissonnier, who had already produced two albums for his father.
About three-fourths of the current Egypt 80 line-up consists of musicians that not only played with Fela Kuti, but often were arrested and harassed alongside the founder of the Afrobeat movement. Live sets consist of both new material and originals from Seun’s father. During his lifetime Fela Kuti never performed songs he had recorded, so for many fans this is their first chance to enjoy classics like Shuffering and Shmiling, Colonial Mentality and Army Arrangement in a live setting. A new studio album called "From Africa with Fury: Rise" will be released on 5 April 2011.
