FEMI KUTI
''NO PLACE FOR MY DREAM''
MAY 21 2013
50:29
1. Nothing to Show for It /3:34
2. The World Is Changing /6:05
3. No Place for My Dream /3:45
4. Action Time /5:43
5. No Work No Job No Money /5:20
6. Carry on Pushing On /4:56
7. Politics Na Big Business /3:42
8. Na so We See Am /4:20
9. One Man Show /6:18
10. Wey Our Money /4:47
11. This Is Only the Beginning /1:42
All Tracks By Kuti
Oluwaseun Ajayi /Keyboards
Akin Akinboro /Drums
Opeyemi Awomolo /Guitar, Leader
Daniel Bankole /Sax (Baritone)
Dotun Bankole /Sax (Tenor)
Anthonia Bernards /Dancer, Vocals (Background)
Femi Kuti /Organ, Saxophone, Trumpet, Vocals
Gbenga Ogundeji /Trumpet, Vocals (Background)
Seun Oyemade /Percussion
Herve Salter /Keyboards
Kate Udi /Dancer, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
Throughout his career, Femi Kuti, eldest son of Fela, has sought to establish his own musical identity while being the torchbearer (along with his younger brother Seun) of his late father's legacy. That truth can be easily envisaged on the cover of No Place for My Dream, where a woman is walking with a basket on her head through an enormous field of garbage. Recorded in Paris, the album sticks close to the heart of Afro-beat, but Kuti, infuses the music with Latin, African-American, and Caribbean sounds as well. The message is the message. Kuti has no choice but to deliver it song after song--"Nothing to Show for It," "No Work No Job No Money," "Politics Na Big Business," etc. all speak truth to the power of oppression The righteous indignation is everywhere, presented in beautifully written tunes orchestrated by himself and Positive Force's bandleader/guitarist Opeyemi Awomolo. But there is real vulnerability here as well. Check the slippery Caribbean Afro-funk of "The World Is Changing." In addition to the interlocking call and response of his organ and the saxophone and brass sections, Kuti offers a vocal atop his backing chorus that states his case -- referring to Somalia, the tsunami in Japan, the earthquake in Haiti, the poverty and suffering from Bangladesh to Rwanda. His voice almost breaks with empathic pain, even as the music charges on. Kuti's organ takes center stage and fuels a deep Afro-Cuban groove on "Carry on Pushing On," while "Na So We See Am" melds Afro-beat to salsa in furious tempo. His tenor kicks things off in the jazzy funk of "One Man Show"'s call to world revolution. Throughout, Kuti sticks close to the heart of Afro-beat's musical drive and heartbeat, yet he moves its boundary. Besides the slamming tunes, another notable thing about No Place for My Dream is the way Femi mirrors his father's musical innovation. Where the elder Kuti brought other musics into the one he was creating as a new language for liberation, Femi uses Afro-beat as the jumping-off point that explores and connects other sounds to build bridges to other cultures. He acknowledges and celebrates musical difference, allows for those tensions to reveal themselves inside his music, and creates a dialogue that uses rhythm and harmony as unifying signifiers in his political language. Brilliant.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Birchmeier
The eldest son of Afro-beat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Femi Kuti (born Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti) spent years playing in his father's band before eventually rising to superstardom following his father's death in the late '90s. Since few artists can match the elder Kuti's musical legacy, Femi's association with his father has been both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it's never been difficult for Femi to garner press or attention, and MCA went out of its way to push his career with considerable amounts of publicity. Yet on the other hand, no matter his individual accomplishments, Femi will forever be known as Fela's son. Practicing a similar style of Afro-beat as his father, Femi helped introduce the percussive blend of jazz and funk music to the international masses beginning in the mid-'90s, along with his father's same sense of political activism. After his father's death in 1997, Femi suddenly found himself the subject of immense attention. He responded by signing with MCA and embarking on his solo career beginning with Shoki Shoki. He won critical celebration around the world and began mounting efforts to break into the U.S. mainstream in successive years.
Born in London and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Femi began his musical career playing in his father's band, Egypt 80. In 1986, Femi started his own group, Positive Force, and began establishing himself as an artist independent of his father's legacy. In the mid-'90s, Motown offered him a record deal with its boutique label Tabu; Femi's eponymous debut album resulted. Released in 1995, the record won praise throughout Europe and Africa for offering a more streamlined and accessible version of his father's music. Femi embarked on an extended promotional tour, crossing first Africa, then Europe in 1996 and 1997. His solo career was off to a successful start, despite the dissolution of the Tabu label (and Femi's record deal with it).
However, this problem became the least of Femi's concerns when his father died of AIDS-related complications in 1997. Shortly afterwards, his sister, Sola, also suffered an untimely death, making 1997 a truly dark year for Femi. He would later write "'97," a song that candidly reflects on this particularly tragic time. Yet with tragedy comes opportunity in the world of music, and Femi ultimately signed a major-label record deal with Polygram in December 1997, only months after his father's death. MCA made the most out of the situation, repackaging and re-releasing much of Fela's catalog and setting the stage for Femi's MCA debut album in the process. Following months of press and hype, MCA released Shoki Shoki in early 1999 to widespread acclaim from such esteemed publications as The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Vibe, not to mention other smaller publications.
DoWnLoAd
''NO PLACE FOR MY DREAM''
MAY 21 2013
50:29
1. Nothing to Show for It /3:34
2. The World Is Changing /6:05
3. No Place for My Dream /3:45
4. Action Time /5:43
5. No Work No Job No Money /5:20
6. Carry on Pushing On /4:56
7. Politics Na Big Business /3:42
8. Na so We See Am /4:20
9. One Man Show /6:18
10. Wey Our Money /4:47
11. This Is Only the Beginning /1:42
All Tracks By Kuti
Oluwaseun Ajayi /Keyboards
Akin Akinboro /Drums
Opeyemi Awomolo /Guitar, Leader
Daniel Bankole /Sax (Baritone)
Dotun Bankole /Sax (Tenor)
Anthonia Bernards /Dancer, Vocals (Background)
Femi Kuti /Organ, Saxophone, Trumpet, Vocals
Gbenga Ogundeji /Trumpet, Vocals (Background)
Seun Oyemade /Percussion
Herve Salter /Keyboards
Kate Udi /Dancer, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
Throughout his career, Femi Kuti, eldest son of Fela, has sought to establish his own musical identity while being the torchbearer (along with his younger brother Seun) of his late father's legacy. That truth can be easily envisaged on the cover of No Place for My Dream, where a woman is walking with a basket on her head through an enormous field of garbage. Recorded in Paris, the album sticks close to the heart of Afro-beat, but Kuti, infuses the music with Latin, African-American, and Caribbean sounds as well. The message is the message. Kuti has no choice but to deliver it song after song--"Nothing to Show for It," "No Work No Job No Money," "Politics Na Big Business," etc. all speak truth to the power of oppression The righteous indignation is everywhere, presented in beautifully written tunes orchestrated by himself and Positive Force's bandleader/guitarist Opeyemi Awomolo. But there is real vulnerability here as well. Check the slippery Caribbean Afro-funk of "The World Is Changing." In addition to the interlocking call and response of his organ and the saxophone and brass sections, Kuti offers a vocal atop his backing chorus that states his case -- referring to Somalia, the tsunami in Japan, the earthquake in Haiti, the poverty and suffering from Bangladesh to Rwanda. His voice almost breaks with empathic pain, even as the music charges on. Kuti's organ takes center stage and fuels a deep Afro-Cuban groove on "Carry on Pushing On," while "Na So We See Am" melds Afro-beat to salsa in furious tempo. His tenor kicks things off in the jazzy funk of "One Man Show"'s call to world revolution. Throughout, Kuti sticks close to the heart of Afro-beat's musical drive and heartbeat, yet he moves its boundary. Besides the slamming tunes, another notable thing about No Place for My Dream is the way Femi mirrors his father's musical innovation. Where the elder Kuti brought other musics into the one he was creating as a new language for liberation, Femi uses Afro-beat as the jumping-off point that explores and connects other sounds to build bridges to other cultures. He acknowledges and celebrates musical difference, allows for those tensions to reveal themselves inside his music, and creates a dialogue that uses rhythm and harmony as unifying signifiers in his political language. Brilliant.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Birchmeier
The eldest son of Afro-beat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Femi Kuti (born Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti) spent years playing in his father's band before eventually rising to superstardom following his father's death in the late '90s. Since few artists can match the elder Kuti's musical legacy, Femi's association with his father has been both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it's never been difficult for Femi to garner press or attention, and MCA went out of its way to push his career with considerable amounts of publicity. Yet on the other hand, no matter his individual accomplishments, Femi will forever be known as Fela's son. Practicing a similar style of Afro-beat as his father, Femi helped introduce the percussive blend of jazz and funk music to the international masses beginning in the mid-'90s, along with his father's same sense of political activism. After his father's death in 1997, Femi suddenly found himself the subject of immense attention. He responded by signing with MCA and embarking on his solo career beginning with Shoki Shoki. He won critical celebration around the world and began mounting efforts to break into the U.S. mainstream in successive years.
Born in London and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Femi began his musical career playing in his father's band, Egypt 80. In 1986, Femi started his own group, Positive Force, and began establishing himself as an artist independent of his father's legacy. In the mid-'90s, Motown offered him a record deal with its boutique label Tabu; Femi's eponymous debut album resulted. Released in 1995, the record won praise throughout Europe and Africa for offering a more streamlined and accessible version of his father's music. Femi embarked on an extended promotional tour, crossing first Africa, then Europe in 1996 and 1997. His solo career was off to a successful start, despite the dissolution of the Tabu label (and Femi's record deal with it).
However, this problem became the least of Femi's concerns when his father died of AIDS-related complications in 1997. Shortly afterwards, his sister, Sola, also suffered an untimely death, making 1997 a truly dark year for Femi. He would later write "'97," a song that candidly reflects on this particularly tragic time. Yet with tragedy comes opportunity in the world of music, and Femi ultimately signed a major-label record deal with Polygram in December 1997, only months after his father's death. MCA made the most out of the situation, repackaging and re-releasing much of Fela's catalog and setting the stage for Femi's MCA debut album in the process. Following months of press and hype, MCA released Shoki Shoki in early 1999 to widespread acclaim from such esteemed publications as The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Vibe, not to mention other smaller publications.
DoWnLoAd
