Tinubu Hails Fela Kuti as Music Icon Receives Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award
By Lagos Panorama
The global music community has paid tribute to one of Africa’s most influential cultural icons, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, with the Recording Academy of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, conferred posthumously.
In a statement released by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, Fela was described as far more than a musician, but a fearless advocate for justice, a philosopher of freedom, and a revolutionary whose sound reshaped global music and consciousness.
“Fela Anikulapo Kuti was a courageous voice of the people whose creativity and conviction defined a generation,” the President said. “His music confronted injustice, challenged power, and continues to inspire millions across the world.”
President Tinubu noted that within the context of Yoruba cosmology, Fela’s legacy has assumed an eternal dimension, likening his enduring influence to that of an Orisa, a revered spiritual force that transcends mortality.
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award marks a historic milestone, as Fela Kuti becomes the first African to receive the honour. The recognition, according to the President, affirms Fela’s foundational role in the evolution of modern music and Africa’s profound impact on global sound.
Fela Kuti is universally acknowledged as the pioneer of Afrobeat, a genre that fused traditional African rhythms with jazz, funk, and highlife, while serving as a powerful vehicle for political and social commentary. His influence remains evident in contemporary Nigerian music, the global Afrobeats movement, and generations of artists across continents.
“Though he has transcended the physical realm, Fela lives on through his music, his message, and the freedom he embodied,” President Tinubu concluded.
Fela lives.
