Seun Kuti, the Afrobeat musician, has spoken up about why his late father and the pioneer of Afrobeats, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, married 27 women in one day.
Recall
that Fela got married to 27 women in one day back in 1978 in what was seen as a
very daring move.
Appearing
on the ‘Fresh Off The Boat’ podcast via Skype, Seun Kuti explained that his
father married 27 women in one day in a bid to preserve their honour and
dignity as the media was already tagging his female dancers and band members
living with him as “prostitutes.”
He
said: “My father was under immense media propaganda. He was very scrutinised.
And most of it were directed to the women that were in his life; his female
back-up singers, dancers. They all lived together with my dad but the media started
calling them prostitutes.
“So my
dad, in order to preserve their honour and dignity, asked them if they would
choose to be his brides so nobody would call them names anymore and they all
agreed. That was how the marriage happened.”
He also
disclosed that Fela’s biopic is already in the works.
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