Posted on 16 June 2020 17 June 2020Group: Album of the day

Fela Kuti – Expensive Shit | Album of the day 17th of June

‘Expensive Shit’ is the twelfth full-length album by Afrobeat artist and pioneer Fela Ransome Kuti and his Africa ’70 band, released in 1975. Kuti was a legend and was a noted tenor saxophonist, pianist, vocalist, arranger, composer and producer. The title of the album and first track refers to an incident in 1974 where the Nigerian police planted a joint on Kuti. Before he was arrested, he ate the joint, but the police brought him into custody and waited for him to produce the (titular) excrement. According to legend, he managed to use another inmate’s feces and was eventually released. The second track ‘Water Get No Enemy’ is inspired by a Yoruban proverb about the power of nature and the universe. The Africa 70 was a powerhouse of a band with Tony Allen on lead drums and a cast of many surrounding him. Their sound has influenced many groups of recent times, including the likes of Antibalas, The Budos Band, Speedeometer, The New Mastersounds, The Daktaris and The Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra among many others. Kuti’s music and energy still sounds fresh and relevant today. Like a lot of his albums, ‘Expensive Shit’ consists of just two tracks, one on each side of the ‘album’: lengthy excursions through driving Afro Funk that builds and builds with Kuti’s rap seeping in and out.