Rikki Stein

Rikki Stein is a veteran music manager from London, UK, who was the personal manager of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti. He is the CEO of Kalakuta Sunrise Ltd and Kalakuta Sunrise Publishing, set up in 2012 to launch Knitting Factory Records in the UK and across Europe. The company repackaged and re-released the entire 50-album catalogue of Fela Kuti. It also develops and promotes many other artists, including his sons, Femi and Seun Anikulapo Kuti.

Stein is also the head of A&R for Okaymusic, a digital music service which gives its artists access to every major digital platform worldwide. He has been associated with a significant number of projects relating to the presentation of music, dance and drama, in the context of major open-air events and international festivals.

He has been involved with the management of distinguished performing artists, signing them to record companies, initiating and organising tours of concert halls and theatres throughout the world. Other significant projects Stein has been part of include:

- Member of the Glastonbury Festival executive team from 1981 to 1990.

- Agent for numerous African performing artists from 1984 to 1988, involving the organisation of international tours for artists from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Burundi, Guinea, Nigeria, Mali, Zaire, Jamaica, etc, as well as for African artists living in Great Britain and the US.

- Personal manager to Les Ballet Africains, a national dance company in Conakry, Guinea, from 1988 to 2000.

- Company secretary and administrator of Kalakuta Ltd, a company that was set up to protect the business interests of Fela Kuti, where he was the chairman from 1990 until his passing on in 1997.

- Company secretary and administrator of the Fela Anikulapo Kuti Estate Ltd, a company that was formed in 1997 to protect the interests of Fela’s inheritors.

- Company secretary and director of MWF Ltd, a company that was established in 1990 to organise the catalogue of Fela Kuti. From 1990 to the present day, MWF Ltd has been responsible for digitally remastering Fela’s entire back catalogue of more than 50 albums and preparing the catalogue for commercial release throughout the world.

- Managing director of Calm Before the Storm Ltd, a company formed in 2009 to create and manage arts related projects.

- Associate producer of the Broadway production of the Fela! musical in 2009 at London’s National Theatre.

- Executive producer of the Fela! musical in Lagos, Nigeria (2011).

- International adviser to the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) which took place in Lagos Nigeria in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and takes place again in 2018, this time in Accra, Ghana.