Seun Kuti says he will only work with his brother Femi Kuti on a record if he is broke or if his career is dwindling. He told Punch he doesn’t have any plan to get married while also lamenting over lack of Nigerian shows.
Excerpts from the interview…
But you hardly get engagements in Nigeria, why?
I don’t know. I come back here to rest because I don’t get jobs here. I don’t understand it as well. At times, I am saddened by it because it is just a shame. It is not even about me but the band which has the pedigree of being a big band. But just for political reasons, we are being excluded. I believe afro beat should be in high demand in Nigeria, Fela did a lot for Nigerians. I watch the shows here and it is not as if they are better than what I do.
Don’t you think you are not invited to perform here in Nigeria because your songs are so controversial?
In America, political artistes hardly get shows. The entertainment industry is highly corporate these days. Artistes are no longer artistes, they are businessmen. You hear them calling themselves ‘brands’ and such names. Most of them that are famous no longer have the artistic spirit. The spirit is feared in corporate world. The real artiste cannot be dictated to. They want people they can tell how to dress and what to sing. Artistes who play political music are totally ignored these days. It is not only in Nigeria. It is normal that Nigerian establishments fight back against me. But why I am not happy about this is just because of The Shrine. Even if people think my brother and I are not making good music, I think Fela has done enough for this country for people to support the Shrine. But they give stupid reasons that the Shrine is dangerous.
But is it not?
It is not! The Shrine has never experienced a case of robbery except once when we invited Fuji people to come and perform there. I don’t want to name the artiste but at that show, they were robbing people even in the toilet. Apart from that, there’s no other case of robbery.
Is it not high time you switched to the other side?
There is no benefit in ‘the other side.’ I have been playing music since I was eight years old and that is like 23 years ago. I respect the few artistes who have toed that line and maybe, made it. But they eventually became pastors. These are people like Ebenezer Obey and Kris Okotie. The other ones are those who praise-sing people who can be their children just because they want to make money from them. I don’t want that to be my portion.
Hasn’t your music put you in trouble before?
You only get into trouble when you do something that is against the law. My music cannot put me into trouble. This is democracy. They can only attack us economically.
Did you watch your dad perform?
I used to go to all the shows with my dad. I saw his lifestyle. He made money; people loved him and his music. There were women everywhere. I felt it was the easiest job ever. But that was very naive. Music is not easy at all. I think a musician’s life is one of the hardest to live. We have to be perfect anytime we work. If a musician makes a mistake on the stage, that is the beginning of the end of his career. If you make it two or three more times, people will say you are not ‘tight’ on the stage.
Can we ever see you and Femi collaborating?
Collaborations like that are money spinners. If we would collaborate, it is not because we want to do something great for music because we are already making great music individually. But if we do it, it would mainly be for financial reason. We agreed that as soon as we feel our career is slowing down and money is not coming as it should, we would jump into the studio and do a money spinner.
Did you actually mean it when you said you weren’t going to get married even to the mother of your child?
I don’t believe in marriage. If I had wanted to be married, I would have been working towards it. People can decide what they want to do with their lives. I just don’t believe in that institution especially as it is set up today
How do you mean?
I don’t like the idea of ‘ownership.’ Nobody has the right to own anybody. This is a capitalist idea so that people can make profit off love. You don’t make profit off love.
What if the mother of your child decides to get married to someone else?
She is free. If she wants to be married, then that is her choice. What will I do about it? Will I put a gun to her head and insist that she should not get married? But I know she will not do that because we have a strong bond and we understand each other and our partnership is great. We are raising a beautiful daughter and it would be a big surprise if she says she wants to get married to someone else.
Do you miss your father?
I miss him. He raised me. I grew up with him. It would be callous of me to say I don’t miss him. It would be a lie too. Lies are even worse than callousness. I wish I could have a conversation with him. It would be great if I could talk to him.
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