Afrobeat musician Seun Kuti has shared insights into the personal challenges his father, the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti, faced due to his numerous romantic relationships.
Reports had it that Seun Kuti, while on the ‘Bahd & Boujee’ podcast, disclosed that Fela’s famous 27 wives were not the only ones who lived with him at his Kalakuta residence. The musician also had over 100 girlfriends.
Seun remarked, “People only know of Fela’s 27 wives, they don’t know of his over 100 girlfriends that lived with us in the house. The wives and girlfriends almost killed Fela with stress.”
Fela Kuti, an icon of Afrobeat and a vocal political activist, passed away on August 2, 1997, at the age of 58.
Grammy-nominated Afrobeat singer, Seun Kuti, has revealed why his late father cum pioneer of the Afrobeats genre, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, married 27 women in one day.
Report recalls that in 1978, Fela, in what was seen as a very daring move, married 27 women in one day.
Speaking on the controversy, Seun, during an interview on the ‘Fresh Off The Boat’ podcast via Skype, said his late father was always involved in media propaganda.
According to the singer, the media was already tagging Fela’s female dancers and band members living with him as prostitutes.
Seun Kuti further explained that his father married the 27 women in one day in a bid to preserve their honour and dignity.
Olaitan Ibrahim