Having yet to hear Fela Kuti get the appropriate love in hip hop music in general, I started geeking out when I discovered this straight gem! Producer/DJ Mike Love put his love for Nigeria and good music to work in using Fela “The Original Black President” Kuti’s catalog to rescore Jay Z’s American Gangster album. The result is the incomparable “Nigerian Gangster.” Damn. Call me MC NyQuil The Itis Triptophan for sleeping on this one.
Fela Kuti is one of the all-time greats. If you don’t know about him, head on over to the Fela Project and get your learn on. Your grandma has probably heard of Bob Marley, but somehow the legacy of Fela doesn’t get its light. This dude was hella political in a time and place that didn’t really appreciate pan-African ideas. I won’t pretend to do him justice here, but one musician called him a combination of “Frank Sinatra and Huey Newton.” Damn, Ol’ Blue Eyes and Listen Whitey?! The Chairman of the Board and the Minister of Defense?! That’s like peas and carrots.
And much love to Mike Love for the project. Other than Common’s “Like Water For Chocolate” and The Root’s “I Will Not Apologize,” there hasn’t been much exploration of Fela’s vast sound. Oh, and the mixtape “Underground Spiritual Game.” Which has not been out of heavy rotation since I swooped it years ago.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD MIKE LOVE’S FELA KUTI X JAY Z IN NIGERIAN GANGSTER.
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