Seun Kuti says his success shouldn’t be undermined because he is Fela’s son

Seun Kuti is the son of the legendary Nigerian artiste and Afrobeats pioneer, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

The foremost saxophonist and former Grammy award nominee stated that his success shouldn’t be undermined simply because he is the son of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

Seun Kuti said he and his elder brother, Femi Kuti, and nephew, Made Kuti, have had successful music careers because of their “deliberate efforts” and “dedication”.

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The controversial singer said Fela’s father, Reverend Israel Ransome-Kuti, was also a musician but people never credited his musical achievements to his father.

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Speaking in a recent interview with actress Iyabo Ojo, Kuti said, “It is not because of our dad that we are successful in music. My brother, Femi Kuti is 60. I am 40. My nephew, Made Kute is behind us now too, and he is in his 20s. And he is actually the best of all of us. That’s what it means; it continues to progress because we are really dedicated to it.

“It’s not just because we are Fela’s children. I mean, nobody says Fela is a musician because his father was a musician. Nobody knows that Fela’s father was a musician. My grandfather was a musician. He recorded albums, he wrote a lot of hymns. My great grandfather was the first person in Nigeria to record a song. We came from a lineage of musicians.

“We even have a brother that grew up in Australia that didn’t grow up with the family, he didn’t even know that he was a Kuti until his 50s, he’s not a musician but he is a creative art director. It’s what we are. We are creative people. So, when people say we are successful musicians because we are Fela’s children, they are just being half clever.”