Fela Kuti – He Miss Road
Learn He Miss Road, a 1975 recording by Fela Kuti & Africa 70.
He Miss Road blends a stripped-down Afrobeat performance with the sound of James Brown-style funk from the 1970s. This dreamy, almost psychedelic record was produced by Ginger Baker with Tony Allen on percussion and Fela’s Africa 70 band. The title tune makes reference to the various ways in which individuals have become lost, as well as the resulting turmoil. Fela uses call-and-response lyrics to depict various examples of people who have “missed the road,” such as a gorilla that enters Lagos from the bush and a pianist who only performs for the deaf. In the final instance, a rival Lagosian singer who had plagiarized one of Fela’s songs is subjected to a vicious personal attack.
This final example is a scathing personal attack on a fellow Lagosian singer who had taken one of Fela’s girlfriends; the attack even extends to the album’s original cover, which serves as a literal illustration of the message.
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Categories: Highlife Music
