Songs as archives
Multi-layered histories and meanings in the music of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/pomh.27630Keywords:
#EndSARS, Kalakuta Inferno, Fela Kuti, Nigeria, Lekki Massacre, state-sponsored violence, archivesAbstract
This article explores the historical threads linking two significant tragedies in Nigeria’s history: the ‘Kalakuta Inferno’ of 1977 and the ‘Lekki Massacre’ of 2020. Examining popular music as a vital repository of historical narratives demonstrates how events are historicized, linked, memorialized, and contested through songs. The Kalakuta Inferno refers to the violent attack by the Nigerian military on the late Nigerian musician and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s Kalakuta Republic commune, while the Lekki Massacre describes the deadly assault by Nigerian soldiers on peaceful demonstrators at the Lekki Toll Gate during the 2020 #EndSARS protests against police brutality. This article confronts the divergent narratives of ‘what happened’ versus ‘what was said to have happened’ by examining reports and commentaries about the events and Fela Kuti’s songs—‘Sorrow, Tears and Blood’ and ‘Unknown Soldier’—which were composed in response to the Kalakuta attack. It highlights how Fela’s songs reflect, reaffirm, and relive painful histories of state-sponsored violence while embedding complex, multilayered meanings within the broader sociopolitical landscape of Nigeria that resonate far beyond its borders. ‘Sorrow, Tears and Blood’ (1977) and ‘Unknown Soldier’ (1979) gained contemporary relevance on social media and the Nigerian consciousness after the massacre, serving as Fela’s posthumous commentary and a conceptual framework for understanding the 2020 event within Nigeria’s histories of state-sponsored violence.
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Discography
Why Black Man Dey Suffer. Nigeria (1971): African Songs Limited AS 0001. Includes ‘Why Black Man Dey Suffer’ and ‘Ikoyi Mentality Versus Mushin Mentality’.
Kalakuta Show. USA (1976): Editions Makossa M2320. Includes ‘Kalakuta Show’ and ‘Don’t Make Ganran Ganran’.
Zombie. Nigeria (1976): Coconut PMLP1003. Includes ‘Zombie’ and ‘Mr. Follow Follow’.
Shuffering and Shmiling. Nigeria (1977): Coconut PMLP1005. Includes ‘Shuffering and Shmiling’ (instrumental and vocal).
Sorrow, Tears and Blood. Nigeria (1977): Kalakuta KK001-A. Includes ‘Sorrow, Tears and Blood’ and ‘Colonial Mentality’.
Unknown Soldier [part 1 and 2]. Nigeria (1979): Phonodisk Skylark SKLP 003A. Includes ‘Unknown Soldier’ (instrumental and vocal).
V.I.P. (Vagabonds in Power). Nigeria (1979): Jofabro KILP 001. Includes ‘Vagabonds in Power’ (instrumental and vocals).
Army Arrangement [remix]. Nigeria (1985): Yaba-Celluloid 6109. Includes remixes of ‘Army Arrangement’, ‘Cross Examination’, and ‘Government Chicken Boy’.
Underground System. Nigeria (1992): Kalakuta KALP013. Includes ‘Underground System’ and ‘Pansa Pansa’.
