Biography
Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, 15 October 1938, Abeokuta, Nigeria, d. 2 August 1997, Nigeria. Kuti was a primary influence behind the invention and development of Afro-Beat, the west African fusion of agit-prop lyrics and dance rhythms that has been a major medium of social protest for the urban poor since the late 60s. Kuti was born to middle-class parents and enjoyed a relatively privileged childhood and adolescence before breaking with family wishes and becoming a band leader and political catalyst. In 1958, he was sent to London, England by his parents, who had agreed to support him there while he studied to become a doctor. Within weeks of arriving, however, he had enrolled at Trinity College of Music, where he spent the next four years studying piano, composition and theory and leading his highlife-meets-jazz group Koola Lobitos. By 1961, the band was a regular fixture on London’s growing R&B club scene, drawing...
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