As the eldest son of Nigerian activist, Afrobeat originator and certified legend Fela Kuti, who passed away in 1997, Femi Kuti has certainly had some enormous figurative shoes to fill. Fortunately for us, he’s thus far done a bang- up job, and his latest, Day By Day from Mercer Street Records, is not only a worthy addition to the catalog, but is perhaps his finest and most focused to date.
As the eldest son of Nigerian activist, Afro-Beat originator and certified legend Fela Kuti, who passed away in 1997, Femi Kuti has certainly had some enormous figurative shoes to fill. Fortunately for us, he’s thus far done a bang- up job, and his latest, Day By Day from Mercer Street Records, is not only a worthy addition to the catalog, but is perhaps his finest and most focused to date.
Femi’s earliest recordings were with his father’s legendary outfit, Egypt 80. By 1986 he was out on his own with his band Positive Force, though it wasn’t until Shoki Shoki (MCA) in 1999 that his musical prowess truly began to shine. The album garnered wide critical acclaim, the volume of which would be well surpassed by its 2001 follow-up, Fight To Win (MCA), which featured guest spots from artists like Mos Def and Common in an attempt to help shed some light on the connections between Afrobeat and American hip-hop.
With each successive release, [Femi Kuti’s] lineage becomes less of a determiner as it becomes more and more apparent that he is very much his own man, and an unprecedented musician in his own right.
Day by Day is Femi’s first record in seven years, and though for many that has been an excruciatingly long dry spell, it’s safe to say that it has been well worth the wait.
As the rightful heir to the Afrobeat throne, it makes sense that Femi Kuti would be turning out some of the finest grooves the genre has to offer, but with each successive release, his lineage becomes less of a determiner as it becomes more and more apparent that he is very much his own man, and an unprecedented musician in his own right.
Day by Day is nearly flawless. Each track is rhythmic and rollicking, and the lyrics are poignant, political, and appropriately stirring. Title track “Day by Day” is a slow-building triumph, eloquently describing the plight of a people. Each verse is sung in a bordering-on-reggae-dub style as traditional African percussion and a choir of voices fill the surrounding waltz-tempo choruses.
The following track, “Demo Crazy,” is a frenetic, funky, free-jazz-influenced explosion taking on the pitfalls of Christianity in Africa. “Do You Know” opens with an Isaac Hayes-style rap before peeling back layer after layer of perfectly synchronized instrumentation laden with saxophones, Hammond organ riffs, and blistering wah-wah guitar funk.
Throughout the record, politics are key, and all is dealt with in a highly engaged and passionate manner — the kind that’s only plausible coming from someone who’s seen disunity and hardship firsthand.
As each track builds carefully upon the elements of the last, the mind of the maker shows itself aptly capable of a kind of calculated restraint necessary to sculpt the frantic rhythmic ruckus of Afrobeat into something new, exciting, and current.
Day by Day makes one hope its not another seven years before we hear from Femi Kuti.
– Pete Klockau
Femi Kuti: www.myspace.com/femikuti
Mercer Street Records: www.downtownrecords.net