Femi Kuti and Chris Martin to curate Fela box set

The announcement follows this year’s week-long Felabration, which took place from 11 to 17 October. The box sets will be sold in a limited run of 4 000 copies as Fela Kuti Box Set #5.

The set will feature seven albums from Fela’s extensive catalogue, including Why Black Man Dey Suffer, Noise For Vendor Mouth, Excuse O, Kalakuta Show, Ikoyi Blindness, Original Sufferhead and Overtake Don Overtake Overtake. It also includes a 20-page, full-colour booklet featuring introductions by Martin and Femi Kuti, commentary on each album by music journalist and Afrobeat historian Chris May as well as song lyrics and exclusive photos of Fela.

A new extended version of ‘Original Sufferhead’ has also been shared ahead of the release of Fela Kuti Box Set #5.

“While preparing the masters for this box set, audio engineer extraordinaire Colin Young discovered four minutes of ‘lost’ material on the B-side of an original 1981 pressing, which includes a superb keyboard solo by Fela that had been omitted from subsequent reissues,” a statement reads.

“The restored version used here starts and finishes with Fela’s keyboard work, a typically venturesome blend of futurism and visceralism. This will be the first time since its original release in 1981 that ‘Original Sufferhead’ will be presented in its full-length glory.”

Meanwhile, Femi Kuti and Coldplay both performed during last month’s Global Citizen Live digital concert, with Femi leading the Lagos roster while Coldplay played in New York City.

Earlier this year, Fela was nominated to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 but lost out to Tina Turner in the fan vote.

Fans can pre-order the box set here.