Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti’s first child, Yeni, who is well-known in the media has shared her memories of how her relationship was once ruined by her status as the rebellious musician’s daughter.
Yeni stated that it wasn’t cool to be Fela’s child in a recent interview with Daily Trust.
The well-known singer and dancer also related a story about how, upon discovering that her younger brother Femi is Fela‘s offspring, a woman once broke up with him.
She said, “Femi had a girlfriend and immediately they knew he was Fela’s son, they broke up the relationship. A girl warned my cousin never to introduce her to such a type of person [Fela’s family].
“People did not want to know us because at the time he [Fela] was in and out of jail. However, I can say that being Fela’s child then and now are two totally different things. Then it was not really a good thing to be Fela’s child which I did not care about but now it is a good thing. We have been through a phase.”
She added: “I remember one guy that I really liked. I mean, I really liked him but his mother walked me out of their house. The woman was yelling, ‘Don’t come near my son again. You want to destroy my son’s life.’”
