Femi Kuti, the Afrobeat artist, revealed that his father, Fela, was not happy with him when he broke away from the Afrobeat pioneer’s band to start his own in 1986.
Kuti revealed that because his departure from his father’s band was perceived as a rebellion, his father’s supporters turned against him.
The multiple Grammy-nominated performer claimed that his father’s scathing criticism of his debut record to the media demoralized him.
He claimed that his father approached the stage during the album’s release and told the media that the record was “rubbish.”
“When I left my father’s band, his fanbase turned against me,” Femi Kuti stated in a recent edition of Elmo Chong’s Sonically podcast. “How dare you fight Fela?” was the sentiment.
It wasn’t a battle, though. I couldn’t find my way. How was I going to become a great musician when I had no formal education? I couldn’t find my way. I was crying within. However, people didn’t get it; they assumed that I was protesting, which is why I was acting in this way.
“I simply concentrated and told myself that I couldn’t go back at this time. I’d rather die trying. I simply kept going, and I haven’t stopped since.
The first time my father heard my first album at the launching in 1989, he said it was rubbish. He went on stage and said it to the press. I was so upset. He was the last person I expected such a harsh review from.”
Femi Kuti said he finally got his father’s validation years later after Fela watched him perform two of his hit tracks ‘No Place For My Dreams’ and ‘Mind Your Business’ at the African Shrine.
He stated that his father then went back to the press to boast about his (Femi’s) success as a musician.
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