Afrobeat icon Fela Anikulapo-Kuti has made historic past, as his legendary 1976 album Zombie turned into once inducted into the Grammy Hall of Popularity in 2025, making him the necessary Nigerian artist to receive this honour.
Nearly three decades after his passing, the Recording Academy has recognised Zombie for its cultural and political significance, praising its brave stance in opposition to oppression.
In incompatibility to the fashioned Grammy awards, the Hall of Popularity celebrates recordings that possess stood the take a look at of time, honouring works which shall be a minimum of 25 years stale and possess fashioned music historic past. Fela’s eldest son, Femi Kuti, shared the household’s pleasure on social media, emphasising how his father’s legacy continues to encourage and unite other folks worldwide.
Initially launched below Coconut Records in Nigeria and later Creole Records in the UK, Zombie stays one of Fela’s most highly effective works.
The album’s title video display and songs adore “Mister Be aware Be aware” and “Commentary Is No Crime” sharply criticised the Nigerian defense drive, likening soldiers to “zombies” who blindly obey orders without ask. T
His audacious inventive statement provoked intense backlash from the authorities, culminating in a violent 1977 attack on Fela’s Kalakuta Republic, where his studio turned into once destroyed, he turned into once brutally beaten, and his mother, Chief Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, suffered fatal accidents.
Regardless of the harsh retaliation, Fela refused to be silenced, the utilization of music as a tool for resistance and social swap. His impact spread a long way beyond Nigeria, shaping the arena music landscape and upsetting artists across generations from Burna Boy and Seun Kuti to Questlove and Beyoncé. His queer Afrobeat fusion, mixing jazz, highlife, and traditional African rhythms with politically charged lyrics, continues to resonate worldwide.
Joining Zombie in the Hall of Popularity are landmark albums from artists adore Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Cat Stevens, and Santana. Many music historians seek this recognition as prolonged overdue, brooding about Fela’s impact on current music and activism.
Since his passing in 1997, his tale has been told thru books, documentaries, and even the Broadway musical Fela!, ensuring that his legacy stays as highly effective this day as it turned into once decades ago.
