Femi Kuti to headline Shrine after release of 10th album

The release of the 12-track collection follows two singles dropped ahead of the album, the title track and ‘Na Their Way Be That’. In an interview with Rolling Stones, Femi Kuti said, the latter song is “an easy explanation as to why some people act in a negative way. It's just their nature, and it explains why they should be ignored."

The album proper took the Afrobeat artist years to complete, and according to an official statement, it shows, the artist taking on “a new direction” as “he has become more optimistic about the future of the African man.”

Born in the UK in 1962, Femi Kuti started off professionally as a member of his father’s Egypt 80 band while still a teenager. In 1995, his first album, a self-titled project, was released. The album’s first track ‘Wonder, Wonder’ became a fan favourite. He found further success with 1998's Shoki Shoki, which produced the hits 'Sorry Sorry' and 'Beng, Beng, Beng'. 

In 2003, Kuti was nominated for a Grammy in the World Music category in 2003. Since then he has received three more nominations in the same category, the last coming in 2014 for the album No Place for My Dream. In the same year, he signed a management deal with Chocolate City. The label, which was founded by Audu Maikori, now handles Kuti within Nigeria.

Speaking about the new album, Kuti said: "I'm a father and I love my kids, so I want to give the younger generation a message of hope. Despite all our problems, we can create greatness in our lives."

To promote the album, Femi Kuti will begin a tour consisting of a series of live performances. The first of these events will take place this weekend on 25 February at the New Afrika Shrine in Ikeja, Lagos. The “One People One World” tour will then reach other venues.

“The plan,” says Chocolate City, “is to take Femi Kuti’s brand of Afrobeat as close to fans of the legend as possible.”

Get One People, One World here.