Fela Kuti
In
the same shared student lodging in Minneapolis that I discovered Old and in the Way my mind was blown by
another essential disc.
Ned
Wood was a fellow fast order cook at Valli Pizza, the 24-hr greasy spoon where
I worked. He was a tall guy with bent but wide shoulders. Gentle as a child but
as quick witted as monkey in the jungle, Ned had an amazing collection of
music. Back in 1978 he estimated it to
hold about 1000 LPs. Of course, he had been lucky enough to work at Positively
4th Street, a local disc-orium, and so had exploited a staff
discount to good effect.
Ned
was one of those people who, at various stages of life, took unwitting
responsibility for my musical education.
Thanks to him I discovered Bob
Marley as well as Eddie and the Hot
Rods. The Flaming Groovies were
another favourite of his, not to mention Elvis
Costello and The The.
One
early morning as were cleaning up the kitchen he said he’d bring me in some Fela the next shift. I shrugged. It was late. I smelled like pizza
dough. I wanted to get some sleep. True
to his word, the next shift we shared together he slipped a C-90 into my palm
and said, “I think you’ll like this.”
Now,
at that point I had not heard a single note of African music. So I didn’t rush
right out and listen to it, but at some point in the next weeks or months I
pushed the play button on my Teac deck.
Old and in the Way grew on me steadily over
repeated listenings. Fela’s Zombie simply cocked a revolver and
blew my head off in less than a minute.
From the hypnotic guitar riff that opened the album and led
immediately to Fela’s fierce
staccato sax, joined quickly by a chorus of jeering trumpets, I can honestly
say I had NEVER even imagined music such as this. But now that I heard it, it
seemed to strike some deep inner chord that embraced the sound as a
birthright. This was not a record that
grew on you. It was a record that grabbed
you by the collar and slapped you in the face to wake you up.
Zombie-o,
zombie (Zombie-o, zombie)Zombie-o, zombie (Zombie-o, zombie)
Zombie no
go go, unless you tell am to go (Zombie)
Zombie no
go stop, unless you tell am to stop (Zombie)
Zombie no
go turn, unless you tell am to turn (Zombie)
Zombie no
go think, unless you tell am to think (Zombie)
Tell am to
go straight
A joro, jara, joro
No break,
no job, no sense
A joro,
jara, joro
Tell am to
go kill
A joro,
jara, joro
No break,
no job, no sense
A joro,
jara, joro
Tell am to
go quench
A joro,
jara, joro
No break,
no job, no sense
A joro,
jara, joro
Go and
kill! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Go and die!
(Joro, jaro, joro)
Go and
quench! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Put am for
reverse! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Joro, jara,
joro, zombie wey na one way
Joro, jara,
joro, zombie wey na one way
J
oro, jara,
joro, zombie wey na one way
Joro, jara,
joro
Attention!
(Zombie)
Quick march!
Slow march!
(Zombie)
Left
turn!
Right turn! (Zombie)
About
turn!
Double up! (Zombie)
Salute!
Open
your hat! (Zombie)
Stand at
ease!
Fall in! (Zombie)
Fall
out!
Fall down! (Zombie)
Get
ready!
Halt!
Order!
Dismiss!
Zombie was Fela’s breakthrough album in the USA though it was his 27th!
Taking it to the military that ran Nigeria, the song was a huge hit back home
as well, with people marching past like dead men and chanting “Zombie” whenever
they sighted a soldier.
The
military no longer rule Nigeria but this is an article from today’s newspaper.
Fear is gripping Nigeria's northeastern city of
Maiduguri with many men fleeing after the alleged execution style killings of
around 40 young men, mostly teenagers, who residents say were rounded up and
shot.
"All male residents have left the neighbourhood
... Those that remain are women, children and elderly men," said resident
Fatima Mustapha.
The city is the stronghold of an insurgency by Boko
Haram Islamists, blamed for the death of hundreds of people in northern and
central Nigeria since 2009.
"The neighbourhood has been under siege since yesterday
(Friday) with soldiers taking over the entire area," said Mustapha, a
resident of the Gwange area where a retired army general, Mohammed Shuwa, was
shot dead on Friday.
She said the men had fled fearing a heavy handed military
response to the murder of the general who was being buried on Saturday.
A military source on Friday declined to comment on
Thursday's killings saying only that if such shootings had taken place, they
would have been "unjustified".
The killings came on the same day that Amnesty
International accused Nigerian security forces of massive rights violations,
including summary executions, in its campaign to crush the Islamists.
Residents said troops conducting raids in areas of
Maiduguri on Thursday separated males in their teens and twenties from older
men and shot them.
In the Kalari neighbourhood they told the young men
"to lie face down on the ground," then asked the rest to look away,
one resident said.
"All we heard were gunshots. They shot them on the
spot," said the elderly religious leader, who did not want to be named,
adding that the troops did the same in three other neighbourhoods.
Most Maiduguri residents were on Saturday shut up at
home.
Residents spoke of a heavy military presence in many
areas of the city.
Boko Haram's insurgency in northern and central
Nigeria and the state's military response are believed to have left more than
2800 people dead since 2009.
The music, as you can see
remains as relevant today as when it was originally released. I have never been without this record in my
collection since 1978 and listen to it frequently.
Track Listing:
01. Zombie
02. Mr.
Follow, Follow
