One of the wives of the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Laide Anikulapo-Kuti, Nee Babayale, has revealed some shocking details about the late legend. Though the interview was months back, I found it now and it’s so revealing. If you haven’t read it before, read it now. It was actually a video interview with Trumpet Media Group, but you can read the transcribed version after the cut.
How did you meet Fela?
I met Fela at a Sunday Jump in 1974. The shrine was opposite my house and some of my friends were selling things in front of the place, and we were just there doing our own thing, while Baba was inside doing his own thing as usual. It was the boys that made us know him well. They came to buy cigarettes from my friends, and wanted to take candy sweets for free, and I was a kind of person that would never allow anybody take me or the people around me for a ride. I protested, and the next thing I knew, was that a hot slap landed on the cheek of my friend selling the goods, and that’s how we started fighting, that Fela had to come out. We narrated what happened to him, so Fela took the boy that slapped my friend inside and punished him. After that, Fela sent one of his drivers to me that if I’m chanced, I should come and see him.
