The genre known as “afrobeat” has a long history, thanks mostly to the visionary multi-instrumentalist Fela Kuti. When the Nigerian composer first came up with the name for his unique sound in the early ’70s, his music was moving thematically from the topic of love to more socially-conscious issues. His hit 1977 album, Zombie, criticized the powerful Nigerian military at the time. The feverish eponymous track from the album, “Zombie,” is just as historically significant as it is intoxicating.
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