Lady

Album: The Best of Fela Kuti (1972)
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Songfacts®:

  • According to Tejumola Olaniyan in his Indiana University Press biography, Arrest the Music! Fela and His Rebel Art and Politics, this 1972 composition preaches "the subordination of women."

    Fela Kuti certainly had an extraordinarily candid attitude towards both women and sex. In August 2004, the British journalist Peter Culshaw recalled a conversation with him about the subject: "People should be proud to say, 'I had a fantastic f--k last night.' When a minister in Britain has an affair he loses his job. If a minister in Africa f--ks 400 women no one will even notice him, you know."

    He had much more to say in that vein, about women both in and out of the bedroom.
  • Whether it was divine retribution by the Great Mother in the sky or overindulgence, Fela paid the price for his cavalier attitude towards the opposite sex. He died of AIDS on August 2, 1997 aged 58.
  • Regarding "Lady" in particular, it is most definitely not to be confused with any other song of the same or similar title; those of a sensitive disposition should enjoy the lengthy Afrobeat instrumental introduction, and ignore the words. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 3

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