Fight To Win

Performer: Femi Kuti
Artist: Mos Def; Common; Money Mark; Jaguar Wright
Engineer: Sodi
Producer: James Poyser; Sodi
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Femi Kuti (vocals, arranger, saxophone); Mos Def, Common, Jaguar Wright (vocals); Adedokun Oke, Yves N' Jock, Sebatien Martel (guitar); Seyi Clegg (flute, baritone saxophone); Oluwagbemiga Oyetegbe (tenor saxophone); Barbaro Teuntor Garcia, Gebenga Laleye (trumpet); Tiwalade Ogunlowo (trombone); Money Mark, Patrick Goraguer, James Poyser (keyboards); Pino Palladino, N'Doumbe Djenge (bass); Samuel Aina (drums); Samson Olawale, Olusegun Damisa, Sidney Thiam (percussion); Marlon, Yansos (programming); Positive Force (background vocals). Includes liner notes by Mabinuori Kayode Idowu. FIGHT TO WIN was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best World Music Album. Personnel: Femi Kuti (vocals, saxophone); Yeni Anikulapo Kuti, Jaguar Wright (vocals); Yves N'Djock (guitar); Oluwaseyi Clegg (flute, baritone saxophone); Barbara Teuntor Garcia, Gbenga Laleye (trumpet); Tiwalade Ogunlowo (trombone); Patrick Goraguer, James Poyser, Money Mark (keyboards); Sydney Thiam (percussion); Marlon (programming, drum programming); Yansos Saunders, Sodi (programming). Recording information: Zarma (2001). Arranger: Femi Kuti. With 2000's Shoki Shoki, Femi Kuti fully stepped out of the shadow of his late father, Fela Kuti. With this record he begins casting his own shadow. Still Afro-beat, it brings in artists like Mos Def and Common to align itself with hip-hop. The musical pace is less frenetic, but the mood remains as intense as it's always been, as one listens to the scorching "Traitors of Africa" or "Eko Lagos" shows. Kuti has matured, and with that he can reveal more of himself, like the debt to his mother shown on "Walk on the Right Side" or the very personal "'97," which commemorates the three deaths the family suffered that year. Kuti's band, the Positive Force, is tighter than ever, and able to play with more varied colors in its arrangements, allowing instrumentals in addition to some blowing, often from Kuti himself. Like his father or Bob Marley, Kuti has become the voice of the common man, not only in Africa but everywhere, concerned with justice, both personal and political. Varied, accomplished, with Fight to Win Kuti has made his first great album. ~ Chris Nickson

CMJ (11-12/01, p.80) - "...You can sense Fela nodding in approbation from somewhere beyond the grave..." Mojo (Publisher) (1/02, p.91) - "...his Afrobeat may resemble his dad's, but Femi deserves to be judged on his own merits....sultry soul...samba inflections....FIGHT TO WIN ain't dumbing down Afrobeat, it's tightening it up..."

While the London-born Femi Kuti struggled to escape the shadow of his legendary father, the iconic Fela Kuti, Femi has developed a sound distinctly his own by incorporating forms like hip-hop and dancehall into the afrobeat framework. And while he may have expanded upon his father's musical blueprint, he has followed lock-step in Fela's fierce and outspoken political stances. A vocal critic of the Nigerian government and American imperialism, Femi has spoken out on AIDS relief, corruption, and the need for a strong black diaspora. He's a continuing reminder of music's liberating power.

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