Afrobeat icon Femi Kuti has shared an emotional account of the early struggles in his music career and the fallout that followed his decision to break away from his father, the legendary Fela Kuti.
Speaking during a recent interview on the Sonical.ly podcast, Femi revealed that his father refused to teach him music when he wanted to learn. Despite that, he decided to forge his own path in the music industry, and shortly after, his father’s fanbase turned against him. They felt as though he was picking a fight with his father, even though he was not.
“When I left my father, his fanbase completely turned against me. They said, ‘how dare you fight Fela?’, and it wasn’t even a fight,” he said.
Femi Kuti explained how confused he was at that point in his life, at the crossroads of falling behind his father’s musical shadow, or finding his own way. He was determined to find his way, or die trying.
I was just lost, I had no formal education so how was I to become a great musician? I was lost and crying inside and they didn’t understand. They thought I was protesting against him,and my father was an activist and somehow everyone forgot that he was my father. I was in the storm and nobody wanted my point of view. I decided to stay focused because I couldn’t turn back, I’d have rather died, it was better I died trying and I’ve never stopped since then.
He recounted how much tough love he got from his father regarding his music, citing the time Fela called his first album ‘rubbish’.
The first time my father heard my first album, he came to the launch and said it was rubbish. He said it to the press and I was so upset. I was like, How dare he say that?’ I was so upset.”
