Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti, according to musician Made Kuti, passed away in poverty. Actor Taymesan hosted a recent edition of the Tea With Tay podcast, where Kuti discussed how Fela’s extreme generosity caused him to die penniless despite making a lot of money throughout his life.
“He was broke Fela died poor. He had the kind of money that could have bought a whole street, but when he comes back from a show in Kalakuta, he will open a box of money and say anyone who needs it should take it.
“Anybody from the street could walk into Fela’s house. It was an open house policy, anybody could walk in and walk out at any time,” he claimed.
“His children were not allowed to call him ‘dad’ or ‘father’ because he didn’t want any preferential treatment for them. Everybody was equal in Kalakuta.”
Made Kuti added, “During Fela’s lifetime, he was appreciated more internationally than he was locally,”
Remember that Fela passed away on August 2, 1997, when he was 58 years old.
