Femi Kuti, a prominent figure in Afrobeat music, recently shared the challenges he faced when he decided to leave his father Fela Kuti’s band in 1986 to start his own.
He revealed that his departure caused a backlash from his father’s fans, who saw it as an act of rebellion.
The talented musician shared that his father’s fans turned against him after he left the band, and his father himself criticized his debut album harshly in the press.
Femi Kuti recounted a particularly demoralizing moment during the album launch when his father publicly declared the album to be “rubbish.”
Speaking in a recent episode of the Sonically podcast hosted by Elmo Chong, Femi Kuti said, “When I left my father’s band, his fanbase turned against me. It was like, how dare you fight Fela?
“But it wasn’t a fight. I was lost. I had no formal education, how was I going to become a great musician? I was lost. I was crying inside me. But people didn’t understand, they thought I was doing what I was doing because I was protesting.
“I just focused and said, I can’t turn back right now. I would rather die trying. So, I just continued and I have never stopped since then.
“The first time my father heard my first album at the launching in 1989, he said it was rubbish. He went on stage and said it to the press. I was so upset. He was the last person I expected such a harsh review from.”
Femi Kuti said he finally got his father’s validation years later after he watched him perform two of his hit tracks ‘No Place For My Dreams’ and ‘Mind Your Business’ at the African Shrine.
He stated that his father then went back to the press to boast about his (Femi’s) success as a musician.
