Eko Ile

from the LP Afrodisiac, EMI Records, 1972



Relatively few musicians from the developed world are ever held to task for the opinions and stances they take on their albums; at worst, they might be boycotted by some fucktarded group of bored Christian housewives or lose the chance to have their tunes peddled at Walmart. In the case of Fela Ransome-Kuti, he was repeatedly harassed, jailed, and tortured by the government of his native Nigeria throughout much of his career, even seeing his mother murdered by the police, yet he continued to speak out against the hypocrisy and negligence he saw there; in so doing, Fela became an international symbol for human rights. The music backing his message was just as strong, a mix of jazz, funk and African highlife, congealing into an earthy and rootsy stew.