The revolutionary essence of Afrobeat music is rooted deeply in the Kuti family legacy. Today we were thrilled to host Femi Kuti, the eldest son of Fela Kuti, for a live set of music that continues his father’s legacy — combining potent social messages with an unstoppable funky sound.
KCRW DJ Jeremy Sole, who will be opening Femi’s show at the El Rey tonight with a DJ set, interviewed the master musician about his influences from childhood up to today. Femi said he used to compete with his sisters on who could memorize and dance to their father’s music the best. During their childhood, they were also influenced my American artists like Michael Jackson and The Temptations. Femi says he now draws inspiration, in part, from other artists remixing his songs.
“It’s one of the great feelings an artist can have, that people want to do things with your work,” said Femi, explaining that hearing someone else’s take on his music influences him as well, so it goes both ways.
A couple years ago, KCRW’s own DJs had the opportunity to remix songs off of Femi’s album “Day By Day.” You can find the Femi vs KCRW Soundclash on iTunes and you can stream Jeremy’s remix below.
Stream Tell Me (Jeremy Sole’s Musaics remix feat. Ticklah
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