Dr. D! Enough? NEVER. Didn't know the Kuti clan felt that way about Allen. Interesting! I'm a big big Adofo fan. Need to go back and refresh my knowledge. And yes to polyrhythms that transcend outsider understanding. It's really where it's at.
Well done, prof! Before the name Afrobeat was applied to Fela’s music, it was the name of his pet monkey. The Kuti family do not take kindly to Allen being mentioned as a co-architect in the same font size as Fela. What is debatable is if Fela wrote Allen’s percussion for him. Fela preferred African classical music later in life as he aimed toward the status of classical European genius, which was just another contradiction in his sense of standards, not quite divorced from the cancerous coloniality in the way he wished. Christian Adofo did a decent job in his book A Quick Ting about Afrobeats, tracing the name to an extent beyond Abrantee. He also claimed some legitimate territory for Ghana in Afrobeats lore. Reductive labels have their politics, gains and warts, but I love that our polyrhythms have always defied Eurocentric classifications; the genres of the African and black diaspora speak to each other in a language more fluent and comprehensible to our bodies in a way that our intellection must catch up with. And that is enough for now.
“In artists who choose collaboration over competition, lending equipment, sharing stems, and keeping each other afloat even when no algorithm is listening. In friends who show up for each other, even when they’re broke (or broken). There’s cultural care. Emotional care. Sonic care.”
It’s more than a sound, it’s the connecting threads of a community. This was really good, touches on something that requires ever more conversation
Slight correction offered with love from your African American cousin. It done been here before. Not it’s. Loved the essay. I remember downloading DJ Abrantees mixtapes lol
Dr. D! Enough? NEVER. Didn't know the Kuti clan felt that way about Allen. Interesting! I'm a big big Adofo fan. Need to go back and refresh my knowledge. And yes to polyrhythms that transcend outsider understanding. It's really where it's at.
Well done, prof! Before the name Afrobeat was applied to Fela’s music, it was the name of his pet monkey. The Kuti family do not take kindly to Allen being mentioned as a co-architect in the same font size as Fela. What is debatable is if Fela wrote Allen’s percussion for him. Fela preferred African classical music later in life as he aimed toward the status of classical European genius, which was just another contradiction in his sense of standards, not quite divorced from the cancerous coloniality in the way he wished. Christian Adofo did a decent job in his book A Quick Ting about Afrobeats, tracing the name to an extent beyond Abrantee. He also claimed some legitimate territory for Ghana in Afrobeats lore. Reductive labels have their politics, gains and warts, but I love that our polyrhythms have always defied Eurocentric classifications; the genres of the African and black diaspora speak to each other in a language more fluent and comprehensible to our bodies in a way that our intellection must catch up with. And that is enough for now.
This is SO GOOD. My favourite thing I have read on here in ages. Thank you 👌🏿
“In artists who choose collaboration over competition, lending equipment, sharing stems, and keeping each other afloat even when no algorithm is listening. In friends who show up for each other, even when they’re broke (or broken). There’s cultural care. Emotional care. Sonic care.”
It’s more than a sound, it’s the connecting threads of a community. This was really good, touches on something that requires ever more conversation
Honest question : In a world where genre is defined (or not at all) by artists, what place do "awards" have? What would/could that look like?
Slight correction offered with love from your African American cousin. It done been here before. Not it’s. Loved the essay. I remember downloading DJ Abrantees mixtapes lol