Afro beat star Femi Kuti and his son, Made have released a joint project titled “Legacy +” under Partisan Records – home to Fela’s catalog.
The project packages two albums, ‘Stop the hate’ by Femi and ‘For(e)ward’ by Made.
Both albums that make up ‘Legacy +’ are steeped in the tradition of Afrobeat invented by Fela but each also offers their own unique vision.
Femi’s ‘Stop the hate’ honors Fela in a traditionally fun, sharply political and affirming way.
Made’s ‘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!
Femi said: “I am very excited and happy because as a father I get to perform with my son on my album again and I get to see him compose, arrange, and play all instruments on his own album.
“Most importantly, we get to release this project together. It is spiritually soothing and comforting to witness this chapter in my life.”
Made added: “I truly believe that once in a while we are fortunate enough to write stories for ourselves that we can look back on much later in our lives.
“This has been one of the greatest positive highlights of my life so far musically and transcendently.
“I’ve learnt so much from my father politically, socially, philosophically and musically that I know this lovely project is only the beginning of more beautiful things to come.”
The cover art for the album features portraits of Femi and Made done by Brooklyn-based artist Delphine Desane, whose work was recently featured on the cover of Vogue Italia.
Tracks on Femi’s stop the hate include: Pà Pá Pà, As we struggle every day; Stop the hate; Land grab; Na bigmanism spoil government; You can’t fight corruption with corruption; Show of shame; Privatisation; Young boy young girl; Set your minds and souls free.
Tracks on Made Kuti’s For(e)ward include: Free your mind; Your energy; Blood; Different streets; Higher you’ll find, Hymn, Young lady and We are strong.
