Doggedly searching for the crux of the biscuit.
I've been listening to a lot of Fela Kuti recently. If you're unacquainted, you could (and should!) get extremely well-acquainted here and here, and a 50-minute documentary from 1982 is up in six parts on Youtube (high-quality version downloadable at the second "here" link above), alongside all manner of concert footage.
This post, however, is not really about Fela, but about James Brown. It was simply by way of Fela-related searches that I ended up at this Afrofunk Music Forum post that calls the clip below "the Rosetta Stone of Afrobeat," and that seems about right. It's James Brown in Paris in 1971, not long before most of his backup band split to form Funkadelic.
And from the same show:
Jesus. There oughta be a law.
If you want to look further into Fela's legacy, you might want to check out Antibalas. One of the most fun bands I've ever seen; they even get my two left butt cheeks shakin'.
Posted by: Ashley at May 20, 2008 12:00 PMJames Brown Live in Zaire is a pretty sweet bootleg. The sound quality is great. It was was recorded at a music festival before the Ali-Foreman fight.
http://ickmusic.com/2008/04/30/james-brown-throws-down-in-zaire/
http://theheatwarps.blogspot.com/2008/01/james-brown.html
I have a boatload of Fela on My Ipod. Probably more than any other artist.
I second Ashley on seeing Antibalas live. They are real fun.
Posted by: lemmy caution at May 20, 2008 05:38 PMAlso good is the Africa 100 afropop bootleg box set:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/10229-the-indestructible-beat
http://whatsinmyipod.blogspot.com/2008/01/africa-100-afrobeat-box-1.html
http://whatsinmyipod.blogspot.com/2008/01/africa-100-afrobeat-box-2.html
http://whatsinmyipod.blogspot.com/2008/01/africa-100-afrobeat-box-3.html
You are clearly biased in favor of getting on up, when in fact that is a rather contentious proposition.
Posted by: Gaijin Biker at May 21, 2008 06:06 AM