Seun Kuti is a man heading towards greatness. Find out all about him in this exclusive interview with Pulse.
Seun Kuti‘s lineage is as great as it gets. He is the great-grandson of Reverend Canon Josiah Jesse Ransome-Kuti, the first Nigerian to record and release an album.
His grandmother is arguably Nigeria’s foremost feminist, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, the woman who made a king go into exile.
Yeah, and he is the son of Nigeria’s rock god/greatest musician/iconic rabble-rouser, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the Afrobeat creator. The lineage is strong and proud.
36-year-old Seun Kuti is the leader of the Egypt ’80 band, (or as he refers to it “an African musical institution“) which has an unrivaled great legacy.
During my interview with him at his crib in the suburbs of Ikeja, ‘Big Bird Kuti‘ as he calls himself on the ‘gram, puts things into perspective.
“I have been in the band since I was 8. It is more complicated for people when they are outside looking in than for people like me that are inside. Being in Egypt ’80 has always been a part of me. It’s the 28th year I have been in the band, and I am 36. I have been in the band all my life basically” says Seun Kuti.
For all his years in the game, Seun Kuti just notched his first Grammy nomination last December. Don’t get it twisted despite this milestone, Seun Kuti feels like he is not a vet even though he is the voice of the legendary and storied Afrobeat band.
“...This is just my fourth album but my band (Egypt ’80) this is their 54th album.
“I told them ‘finally you guys get a nomination after 54 records.’ It’s not only for me, but my father’s band has finally gotten a nomination as well. It is a win-win for us” he explains.
