Seun Kuti – The Funk It Interview

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - Bloomington, Indiana @ The Bluebird

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 blazed through southern Indiana on their current tour of the United States, stopping at the 250 capacity Bluebird Nightclub last Friday. Their act was in top form, performing their entire new album, A Long Way To The Beginning, as well as the Fela Kuti composition V.I.P. (Vagabonds In Power).

I sat down with Seun after the show to discuss the current state of afrobeat music, walking in his father’s footsteps with the Egypt 80 band, and working with Robert Glasper on the new album. Check out the video interview, plus a few songs and a 16 minute monologue/rant right here on Funk It…

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 – The Funk It Interview 9/12/14 Bloomington, IN @ The Bluebird

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - Bloomington, Indiana @ The Bluebird

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (Part 1 of 6) Bloomington, IN @ The Bluebird
IMF (International Mother Fuckers)

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (Part 2 of 6) Bloomington, IN @ The Bluebird
Seun speaks

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (Part 3 of 6) Bloomington, IN @ The Bluebird
Black Woman

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (Part 4 of 6) Bloomington, IN @ The Bluebird
Black Woman (continued)

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (Part 5 of 6) Bloomington, IN @ The Bluebird
Higher Consciousness (second half), Kalakuta Boy

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (Part 6 of 6) Bloomington, IN @ The Bluebird
Kalakuta Boy (continued)

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - Bloomington, Indiana @ The Bluebird

Seun Kuti - The Funk It Interview

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I also had the pleasure of catching original afrobeat drummer and pioneer Tony Allen perform with the Chicago Afrobeat Project a few weeks ago in Chicago at a small club. I only caught the first 25 minutes before I had to high tail it to the Navy Pier to get on the Spirit of Chicago yacht with Talib Kweli and a conglomerate of funk superstars for the Fiyawrapper Battleship (but that’s a story for another day and blog post).

Tony Allen with Chicago Afrobeat Project

It appears that Tony Allen has recorded a full album with the Chicago Afrobeat Project for release next year and I was able to catch several of these new songs through my video lens…

Chicago Afrobeat Project with Tony Allen (Part 1 of 3)
8/30/2014 Chicago, IL @ Double Door

Chicago Afrobeat Project with Tony Allen (Part 2 of 3)
8/30/2014 Chicago, IL @ Double Door

Chicago Afrobeat Project with Tony Allen (Part 3 of 3)
8/30/2014 Chicago, IL @ Double Door

Tony Allen with Chicago Afrobeat Project

UNRELEASED AUDIO: Fela Kuti & Egypt 80 – 1981 Amsterdam & 1988 Lagos Sunsplash

I’m going deep into my archives and unleashing these unreleased live tracks for the very first time. Don’t ask where I got them because I’m not telling. Here we have 4 full-length live tracks from the legendary Fela Kuti with his Egypt 80 band in excellent soundboard quality.

DOWNLOAD MP3 ZIP FILE: MEGA or WETRANSFER

1981 Amsterdam:
01. Gov’t Chicken Boy [27:29]
02. Original Sufferhead [35:26]

1988 Lagos Sunsplash:
01. Big Blind Country [22:20]
02. O.D.O.O. [39:40]

Fela Kuti

Please credit Funk It Blog if you repost or reblog these recordings.

Also, don’t miss this prior Funk It post of a burning Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 performance: http://funkit.virose.net/?p=2431

VIDEO: Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 burn bright at House of Blues New Orleans #jazzfest2012

The chance to see Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 in the smallest House of Blues in the country? Not a chance I would miss that. The first thing the Funk It crew did when we arrived in New Orleans for 5 nights of live music and licentiousness was hit this Wednesday night show. Every expectation was met with a non-stop 2 hour performance. In fact, the beginning of this video is about as calm as this performance ever became. It was like the eye of the storm in the middle of the show, a political diatribe bookended by bombastic intensity on both ends….

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 – The Good Leaf – 5/2/12 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues

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