Why I refused to be another Fela – Femi Kuti breaks silence

Renowned Afrobeat musician Femi Kuti has opened up on the struggles he faced while trying to establish his own identity outside the giant shadow of his legendary father, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

Speaking on the Afropolitan Podcast, Femi revealed how, from a young age, people constantly pressured him to live up to his father’s musical legacy.

“In school, at the bus stop, everywhere — people would say, ‘Are you not going to be like your father? Won’t you play music?’ The pressure was too much. You must be like your father,” he recounted.

The musician explained that he eventually reached a turning point when he realized he could never be anyone else — not jazz greats like Charlie Parker or John Coltrane, and certainly not Fela.

“If God wanted me to be Fela, I would have been Fela. I had to be Femi Kuti,” he said.

Femi shared that he once lived with his father and even dressed like him, but later chose to break away and form his own band — a decision that initially drew heavy criticism.

“His fan base descended on me. They hated me. The press hated me. There was no internet then, so I couldn’t even defend myself,” he recalled.

He also credited his grandmother’s tough love for helping him refocus when he nearly lost his way. According to him, she scolded him for neglecting his horn during a two-week stay, and though he cried all night, her words saved his career.

Looking back, Femi said the pain of carving his own path was necessary:

“I had to feel my pain. I had to strive for my own success. Being under my father’s roof, I couldn’t even see that dream.”