Afrobeat is a combination of traditional Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, funk and chanted vocals fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularised in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who gave it its name, who used it to revolutionise musical structure as well as the political context in his native Nigeria. It was Kuti who coined the term "afrobeat" upon his return from a U.S. tour with his group Nigeria '70 (formerly Koola Lobitos). Afrobeat features chants, call-and-response vocals, and complex, interacting rhythms. (wikipedia). 

It is old news that we love Afrobeat and we try to find as many original members of Fela's band to interview on this site as we can.  Fela is someone that we look up to as Africans and most importantly as Nigerians.  He taught us not to compromise in the face of injustice.  He also taught us most importantly to speak up and not just 'suffer in silence'.  He was simply a phenomenal artist.  Here on Pamela's world we get inspired by artists who follow the path that Fela laid.  It is definitely not easy, trying to continue and keep a musical genre alive.  We got the chance to sit with Dele Sosimi, who was a pianist in Fela's band.  Remember, we interviewed one of Fela's guitarists last year.

Read on and Let's get inspired.

Dele Sosimi sojourn into the world of  Afrobeat occured as a youth living in Lagos Nigeria.  Femi Kuti attended Dele's secondary school where Dotun Ransom -Kuti (his school father attended), they soon became fast friends and he found himself attending the shrine with Femi.  He found himself attracted to this genre of music which told stories of politically, economically and socially disadvantaged people and the rest was history. Hanging around this talented musical family, he found  himself so inspired that he kept on working on his music.   He started trying to play Fela's music until  he taught himself Fela's musical parts.  When he felt that he had nailed the parts, he asked Fela if he could play the solo on some of his music, he auditioned and the rest was history.  Fela was impressed with his style and determination that he was allowed to play until he finished school and joined Egypt '80.

Working with Fela was  no easy walk in the park.  Though, he could be very sweet, he could also be temperamental and he had no problems embarrassing those who made mistakes or did not take rehearsals very seriously.  Working with this temperamental genius, helped prepare him for a world of musicians where temperaments are often not steady. 

With two critically acclaimed CD's under his belt - Turbulent waters and Identity, Dele is taking the world of Afrobeat music by storm and inspiring a new multi racial generation to learn more about this brand of music that is a social commentary and teaches about Justice.   We got a chance, to actually re listen to the title song, "Wahala' with Dele. This is what he had to say about this song.  "The song identity is about remaining true to your art form". "  He goes ahead to state that 'when you remain true to your art form, you have a musical identity so you are not playing or dancing or walking to the dictates of any particular group or persons'.  We love that song.  It is definitely a pleasurable experience to listen to this music. 

Take a listen: 

Since Dele has been crafting Afrobeat music in the UK music scene for more than 15 (fifteen) years - we had to ask him, what his thoughts are on the merging of music that seems to be occuring within this genre of music.  Many younger artists are now fusing Afrobeat music to Rock, R and B and Hip hop music in an attempt to enjoy the richness that this brand of music provides as well as to share this genre of music that is both fun and political.  His thoughts are that  "all forms of collaboration is good, so long as the collaborators are doing it out of genuine artistic exploratory adventure. I have never turned down the possibility to experiment, interact with other musician, especially within my role as one of the most proficient of Afrobeat ambassadors.   I have worked with several Afrobeat groups and it is wonderful to hear how far that they've gone.  This is Fela’s month and there will be loads of symposium, talks, performances, and collaborations/fusions.  Definitely I am all for innovation and experimentation". 

Dele isn't only just a musician but he has also done other things within this genre.  He has been a teacher of Afrobeat music, as well as a curator of this genre of music as well.  He was recently invited to Denmark to show case this genre of music to a packed audience. In his words, each evening , 'each show was packed to the brim and there was a standing ovation'.   These weren't only black lovers of Afrobeat music but rather a multi racial and multi generational group. 

Unlike a lot of other European nations that seem often times welcoming of music that is different, London radio stations cannot be said to be that broad minded.  We had to ask him what he had to do to push his music forward.  What's the secret of his getting the London music scene's attention?  He confesses that, "there are djs and radio stations that play world music that does not fit into the category of Pop, R and B, it could be Highlife, Afrobeat, Zouk , Latin jazz, Afro Latino...these program come up late at night when half of the UK is in bed.  There are some die hard fans who can’t wait to listen to these new artists that introduce them to what is new and happening".

As has been mentioned several times, you cannot separate Afrobeat music from the political or the social.  Nigeria is definitely a hot wave of political and social issues.  In fact, one can be quite cynical and say that Nigeria is one of the best places to be an Afrobeat musician because you will definitely get a lot to sing about.  We had to ask him what he thinks about the place of Afrobeat in today's Nigeria.  His response was that, "If we listen to Seun and Femi’s new album -there’s a lot of political commentary and social commentary on those albums.  We come from that same school that as a musician, we cannot ignore the social political climate of where we come from.  But since I am not based in Nigeria, I get to hear about these things from Nigerian newspapers and Nigerian sites.  Having said that, Afrobeat music is often very relevant of whatever society one is placed.  We have to ensure that we remain relevant in our utterances.. It is cool to sing love songs but you have to ensure that you are relevant with what is going on in your environment".

We couldn't let him go without asking him his thoughts on the Fela on Broadway show that has taken the world by storm and actually promoted the genre of Afrobeat music as well as Fela's life story.  He comments that, "What I watched was phenomenal, when I worked on it I could see it for what it truly was.  It was most importantly a labour of love, and desire to share a snapshot of the life story depicting the pain and conflict which
plagued Fela the musical genius through the majority of his life".  Yes, he worked on Fela on Broadway.  He is also a music producer as well.  Ever heard Ikwunga - the Afrobeat Poet?  You need to.  He produced Ikwunga's CD.

In conclusion, like many of the personalities interviewed this month of October - we had to ask his thoughts on Nigeria at 51.  What he wishes could happen with Nigeria? "I wish, there are so many things that have gone wrong.  I wish we were able to be unified you know. If we look at the history of Nigeria, Nigeria is not a name that belongs to us.  It is a colonial name. if we are calling ourselves independent we should not be calling ourselves Nigerians.  You know that the Berlin conference was set up to ensure that the colonies will always remain divided.  I wish mainly that we can become a unified nation. I wish that we could have an African union that is truly an African union.  I wish we could come together as black intellectuals. Many Africans don’t know their history, and many don’t believe in their former greatness"

It was definitely an eyeopener talking with Dele Sosimi and I hope you go out and get his CD.  You can pick it up from itunes, amazon and other great stores that sell African music.

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