Beasts_of_No_Nation_(album)

<i>Beasts of No Nation</i> (album)

Beasts of No Nation (album)

1989 studio album by Fela Kuti

Beasts of No Nation is an album by the Nigerian musician Fela Kuti.[2][3] It was released in 1989.[4] Kuti is credited with his band Egypt 80.[5]

Quick Facts Beasts of No Nation, Studio album by Fela Kuti ...

Kuti played the title track on his 1986 North American tour and promoted it in interviews.[6] The album sold around 15,000 copies in the United States in its first year of release.[7]

The 2005 novel by Uzodinma Iweala takes its title from the album.[8]

Production

Beasts of No Nation was produced by Wally Badarou.[4] Kuti began thinking about the album while in jail for infractions related to foreign currency and wrote the songs after being released.[9][10] The title track accuses the Nigerian government and military of transgressions against the Nigerian populace; among other grievances, the album also condemns apartheid.[11][12][13] Kuti's use of the phrase basket mouth acknowledges his music's responsibility to protest.[14]

The album cover depicts P. W. Botha, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher as horned bloodsuckers.[15] The first line of the title track was inspired by a speech by Botha.[16][17]

Critical reception

More information Review scores, Source ...

The Gazette called the album "pan-African message music with a capital A for Anger."[23]

AllMusic wrote: "After a few so-so records in the early '80s, Beasts of No Nation was a strong (at times stunning) return to form for Kuti and signaled that his political beliefs kept him from becoming musically lazy."[18] In its 1997 obituary, The Philadelphia Inquirer deemed the album "blunt" and "threatening."[24] Rolling Stone considered it "classic Afro beat."[25]

Track listing

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References

  1. [1]
    Green, Tony (6 Nov 1997). "Cool stuff you may not have heard, yet...". The Florida Times-Union. p. D2.
  2. [2]
    "Fela Kuti Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. [3]
    Taylor, Steve (September 27, 2006). The A to X of Alternative Music. A&C Black.
  4. [4]
    Thompson, Dave (August 21, 2001). Funk. Hal Leonard Corporation.
  5. [5]
    Cheyney, Tom (May 17, 1990). "Recordings: Beasts of No Nation". Rolling Stone. No. 578. p. 144.
  6. [6]
    Hurst, John V. (November 17, 1986). "Fela Casts His Spell with Political Punch". The Sacramento Bee. p. B5.
  7. [7]
    Boehm, Mike (27 July 1990). "Nigerian Musician Sees Music as a Tool". Los Angeles Times. p. F1.
  8. [8]
    Eaglestone, Robert (May 26, 2017). The Broken Voice: Reading Post-Holocaust Literature. Oxford University Press.
  9. [9]
    Shaxson, Nicholas (March 20, 2007). Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil. St. Martin's Publishing Group.
  10. [10]
    Hoekstra, Dave (November 13, 1986). "Fela mixes U.S., Africa – Militant Afro-Beat creator to play here". Features. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 69.
  11. [11]
    Carroll, Rachel; Hansen, Adam (May 13, 2016). Litpop: Writing and Popular Music. Routledge.
  12. [12]
    Block, Robert (24 Feb 1999). "'Soldier Go, Soldier Come' Is the Refrain for Jaded Nigerians". The Wall Street Journal. p. 1.
  13. [13]
    Shelemay, Kay Kaufman (January 11, 2022). Sing and Sing On: Sentinel Musicians and the Making of the Ethiopian American Diaspora. University of Chicago Press.
  14. [14]
    Afolayan, Adeshina; Falola, Toyin (January 13, 2022). Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: Afrobeat, Rebellion, and Philosophy. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
  15. [15]
    Dimery, Robert (June 9, 2020). Cult Musicians: 50 Progressive Performers You Need to Know. Quarto Publishing Group USA.
  16. [16]
    "Fela insists he's no rebel – he just sings the truth". The Gazette. Montreal. 10 July 1986. p. B8.
  17. [17]
    Pareles, Jon (7 Nov 1986). "Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Nigeria's Musical Activist". The New York Times. p. C23.
  18. [18]
    "Fela Kuti, Fela Kuti & Egypt 80 Beasts of No Nation". AllMusic.
  19. [19]
    Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 41.
  20. [20]
    MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 2000. p. 409.
  21. [21]
    The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 409.
  22. [22]
    Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 219.
  23. [23]
    Feist, Daniel (21 Apr 1990). "Beasts of No Nation Fela Anikulapo Kuti & Egypt 80". The Gazette. p. H13.
  24. [24]
    Moon, Tom (5 Aug 1997). "Charismatic Fela Put His Passionate Politics in the Groove". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E4.
  25. [25]
    Goldman, Vivien (Sep 18, 1997). "King of Afro beat dead at 58: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, 1938-1997". Rolling Stone. No. 769. p. 33.
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