June 15, 1999

Shoki Shoki

Under ordinary circumstances, dads are better at putting up shelves and mowing the lawn than you....

7 / 10 Under ordinary circumstances, dads are better at putting up shelves and mowing the lawn than you. These are not ordinary circumstances, however, as Femi's Mad Dad - the late, legendary Fela Kuti - was champ of both Afrobeat and living life poised on the brink of chaos. A prominently harder act to follow, in other words.

/img/FemiKuti799.jpg You'd therefore think Femi misguided to follow directly in his father's oft-eulogised footsteps, but he has and he hasn't made a hash of it - spreading the fervour, lust and wayward funk so thickly that dad is certain to be grinning in heaven. As basslines, horns and sprightly riffs spiral in a million directions, he also proves keen to continue Fela's fight against a range of foes, particularly the Nigerian authorities ('Blackman Know Yourself'). Elsewhere, there is camp tribalism ('Eregele'), volatile raunch-outs ('Beng Beng Beng') and in the case of 'Scatta Head', a vocal delivery so fiery you could cook dinner on it. On display throughout is Afrobeat's raison d'jtre: a rapturous swathe of noise which sounds electrifyingly close to collapse.

True, we should wait for a few more albums before elevating Femi to his father's lofty heights. But in the meantime, here's enough evidence to guarantee he's no Julian Lennon of Afrobeat.