Fela Kuti | The faded worker jacket

Material: 100% organic cotton

Fit: slim

Fabric weight: 340 g/m²

Washed finish

Joy Hanoun sees colour where others see shadow. Created for United Souls, her colourful artwork pays tribute to Fela Kuti, reflecting the free spirit and commitment of the king of Afrobeat.

The drawing takes inspiration from the celebrated black-and-white photograph “Fela Kuti in Detroit”, which shows the musician with his fists raised during his concert at Orchestra Hall in Detroit, Michigan, in 1986.

THE KING OF AFROBEAT
FELA KUTI (1938–1997) — NIGERIA

Born into a politically engaged family, Fela Kuti left for London to study music in 1958. While touring the United States with his band in 1969, he met Sandra Izsadore, who introduced him to an African history he had not previously known, as well as the struggle of the Black Panther Party. Returning to Nigeria as a Pan-Africanist, he adopted the name Anikulapo (“he who carries death in his pocket”) and created Afrobeat, a musical style blending jazz, soul, juju and highlife rhythms.

In 1974, Fela Kuti founded the Kalakuta Republic, an alternative, autonomous community with a school, a hospital and other facilities. Convinced that “music is a weapon”, he used his songs in Pidgin, the language of the people, to denounce corruption, dictatorship and the power of multinational corporations, bringing persecution upon himself. Fela Kuti’s influence on the international music scene has continued to grow since his death in August 1997.