Fela Kuti was born in 1938 in Nigeria into a prominent family and had the birth name of Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti. He was a very interesting and political man, which shows a great deal in his music. Kuti traveled to London in order to attend Trinity College of Music. While studying in London, Kuti formed the band Koola Lobitos, which over the years had a long string of names. Kuti traveled the world recording and performing a plethora of genres. His music is defined as Afro-beats and is a mixture of jazz, highlife, and rock. During his lifetime, Fela Kuti’s music has brought him trouble and disaster. His band created an album named Zombie, which criticized the practices of the Nigerian Army. This led to soldiers attacking the …show more content…
He was exposed not only to traditional African music, but also Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, and the Beatles, which shaped the music style he performs today. Blondy was expected to become an English teacher by his family, which is what sent him to Hunter College in New York. His true passion was for music and that passion led him to perform in Central Park and a variety of clubs in the area. While performing in various settings, he was discovered by a producer and created his first couple of albums. Blondy tried returning to Africa but was arrested because he seemed to speak English too well for a native of the Ivory Coast. He hit a cop after the cop hit him, which combined with the previous charge, sent him to jail for a few days. Alpha Blondy was then sent to an asylum because they needed to test his mental state. When his quarrel with the law was over, Alpha Blondy received the opportunity to compete in the Premiere Chance Talent Show, which made him extremely popular and kicked off his career. He has a band called Solar System and his music is usually categorized under the reggae or jazz genre. Alpha Blondy sings about a variety of topics including ones with religious meaning, political meaning, and