‘I Believe Fela Should Have Done Things Differently’
Lemi is a self-taught artist who met Fela at the age of 18. In all, he designed 26 album covers for the Afrobeat legend.
Behind the Artwork of Fela Kuti
Everybody Say “Yeah Yeah” 😍 During ADE, #felabration2018, life and music of Fela Kuti hosts a lively discussion between DJ and scholar @richmedina Rich and legendary Nigerian afro, popart artist, illustrator and designer, Lemi Ghariokwu who is most renowned for providing many of the #original #cover #images for the recordings of #afrobeat founder Fela Kuti.
Rich and Lemi will talk about Lemi’s relationship with Fela Kuti, his process in the creation of his iconic album artwork that adorns Fela’s first 27 LPs, and the impact of Fela’s method of anti-colonial and governmental protest on the world.
The art and music of these two unforgettable human beings go far beyond dancing and celebration. The art and music invoke depictions of life under colonial rule in Lagos, Nigeria, and the entire colonized world for that matter. Fela’s decision-making process in remaining in Lagos with his people after traveling the world via his music, combined with Lemi’s amazing ability to interpret those visions with such power and consistency remains an unsung dialogue on speaking truth to power and standing up against fascism and the greed of colonial rule.
We will #explore that #discussion in a manner never heard before in The Netherlands. Both Rich and Lemi have carried on this tradition in full spectrum in their own relative ways. We thought it only right to bring together the artist who interpreted Fela’s vision with an American DJ and scholar who fundamentally introduced Fela’s music to New York City in the 1990s, to hold such an important forum during Fela’s birthday month.
Felabration at the Paradiso Noord concert hall.
Saturday 20th of October
Paradiso Noord, Tuinzaal
More information and tickets: https://www.instagram.com/mano_a_mano_lda/
Abami Eda – Felabration
Chai! Abami Eda! If to say you stay, you for see everything wey you talk! 80 years strong! You will always be our Black President.
Photo: @notonseat
HIS STORY NOT HISTORY
My friend shared this and it told my story well, a summary but a great story by Mallam Okweshime: Read More
VALUE
There is nothing as amazing as being of value to people and the world, in a way that is not selfish but out of love. Value is a strong force that has a ripple effect. Whatever talent, what ever gift, what ever skill you have, use it to add value, whether or not you are making money, make sure, you make impact too. Read More
BALANCE
The world is constantly evolving, what was new yesterday can become obsolete in the twinkle of an eye. There is just no chill. I have learned that to stay relevant you also have to evolve, you cannot be stuck in archaic ways and expect the world to come back to you. Read More
A DYNASTY OF ALBUM COVER ART – GRANTA
As a youngster and aspiring artist in the early 1970s, I learnt a lot from attending art exhibitions and visiting private studios and galleries in Lagos. It was a ritual for me to flip through newspapers eagerly to check out the cartoon page where the artists reign supreme with their take on socio-political issues in the country. My other pastime was to check out the street sign-writers and their organic form of art. The minibuses in Lagos always had philosophical slogans written on them.
In Nigeria, everyday life is noted not so much for the abundance of technology as for the fact that so much of it does not function. The country’s political rulers are not satisfying the needs of the people and are interested primarily in enriching themselves. A new enemy has also arisen in Nigeria – insecurity has intensified due to kidnapping and terrorist extremism. Yet despite the despair, the underlying attitude has remained irrepressibly optimistic. In the last three decades or more, a couple of artists have started using the tools at their disposal to analyse political developments. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was one major artist; with his Afrobeat music, he challenged the forces of repression and corruption in governance in the state of Nigeria. He suffered great consequences but never gave up the fight till… Continue
