Femi Kuti, a popular Nigerian musician and the first son of the Afrobeat founder, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, has revealed why he left his father’s band.
Femi made the disclosure during his recent appearance on Afropolitan podcast.
Speaking about his decision to part ways with Fela’s music band, Femi Kuti disclosed that he left to discover his own identity because “I did not have any possibility of my life”.
“Growing up in school, everybody would be like ‘aren’t you going to be like your dad or won’t you play music? I was pressured to be like my father.
“If I wanted to play music, I had to be Femi Kuti. I used the same mathematical thought that I cannot be Fela. I began to wear the same outfits with my father because I used to stay with my mother before I ran away to stay with him.
“I was like mini Fela because he usually dresses me like himself. I just thought I should better look for myself fast, or I’m going to be a very unhappy man. So I went back to my mother.
“The moment I formed my band, his fan base descended on me. It was very difficult to find a good write up about me then because the press hated me and at this time, there was no internet for me to defend myself.
“Being under my father, I didn’t have any possibility of my own life, including having children. I saw my life in his life,” the 63-year-old stated.