FEMI KUTI AND MADE KUTI TWO-ALBUM PROJECT LEGACY + OUT NOW!

by the partae February 8, 2021

written by the partae February 8, 2021

Femi Kuti and Made Kuti Two-Album Project 'Legacy +' Out Now!

Praise for ‘Legacy +’:
“Made Kuti is a one-man studio band…[he] merges the slow-simmering rhythm and implacable horn riffs of vintage Afrobeat with a looping, prismatic, multilayered production, doubling back toward psychedelia.” – New York Times“Giddy and transcendent” – Paste“With one listen through ‘Legacy +,’ it’s clear that the late Fela Kuti’s musical family tree remains both strong and fruitful.” – American Songwriter

“A fresh take on the Afrobeat sound that Fela pioneered in the 1970s and ’80s. Made carries the torch for his family’s Black consciousness and activist politics.” – SPIN

“A remarkable collection” – Loud & Quiet (9/10)

“Throws Afrobeat to the future” – The Observer

“The dynasty continues” – Uncut (8/10)

Femi Kuti and his son Made Kuti release Legacy +, a special two-album package that includes solo albums from each artist – Femi’s Stop The Hate and Made’s For(e)ward. The project has earned critical acclaim while Femi and Made proudly carry on Fela Kuti’s legacy as torchbearers for change. To celebrate the release, Femi has shared a music video for Stop The Hate highlight ‘As We Struggle Everyday’ (filmed by Optimus Dammy, edited by Audrey Hurtis, with illustrations by Kiki Picasso). Watch below.

WATCH: ‘As We Struggle Everyday’ by Femi Kuti

Both albums that make up Legacy + are steeped in the tradition of Afrobeat invented by Fela Kuti (Femi’s father, and Made’s grandfather), but each also brings their own unique vision and sound. Stop The Hate honours Fela in a traditionally fun, sharply political, and affirming way. Meanwhile For(e)ward is a modern and progressive freedom manifesto, pushing boundaries of the subgenre even further. Made also performs every instrument on his album!

The cover art for For(e)ward and Stop The Hate features portraits of Femi and Made done by Brooklyn-based artist Delphine Desane, whose work was recently featured on the cover of Vogue Italia.

Femi got his start playing saxophone in his father’s band in 1979, eventually creating his own band, Positive Force. Over the next 30 years, Femi would amass worldwide acclaim as an ambassador of Afrobeat and many humanitarian organizations. Positive Force remains at the forefront of the Afrobeat movement, expanding the music’s vocabulary. Femi has earned multiple Grammy nominations, performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages and festivals, and collaborated with iconic musicians across a wide array of genres, most recently Coldplay on their on their latest album Everyday Life.

Made grew up in the legendary New Afrika Shrine in Lagos, and spent much of his childhood touring with his father, playing bass or saxophone in Positive Force. Unlike his father, who didn’t formally study music, Made went to the famed Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London (the same place Fela studied, back when it was known simply as Trinity College), where he shared a musical environment with some of the most talented and disciplined musicians up-and-coming acts from the city’s underground scene.

FEMI KUTI