Back in 2010, photographer James Petrozzello paid homage to the original Queens of the Kalakuta Republic by photographing the FELA! dancers representing each queen.
Fela Kuti was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick. The musical style of Felá is called Afrobeat, a style he largely created, is an innovative and complex fusion of Jazz, Funk, Ghanaian/Nigerian High-life, psychedelic rock, and traditional West African chants and rhythms. Fela was known for his showmanship, and his concerts were often quite outlandish and wild. He referred to his stage act as the Underground Spiritual Game.
Kuti thought that art, and thus his own music, should have political meaning. He thought the most important thing for Africans to fight European cultural imperialism was to support traditional African religions and lifestyles. The American Black Power movement also influenced Fela’s political views. He was a candid supporter of human rights, and many of his songs are direct attacks against dictatorships, specifically the militaristic governments of Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s. He was also a social commentator, and he criticized his fellow Africans (especially the upper class) for betraying traditional African culture. The African culture he believed in also included having many wives. In 1978, Fela married twenty-seven women, many of whom were his dancers, composers, and singers. Later, he was to adopt a rotation system of keeping only twelve simultaneous wives.
In recent years there has been a revitalization of Fela’s influence on music and popular culture, culminating in another re-release of his catalog controlled byUniversal Music, off- and on-Broadway biopic shows, and new bands, such as Antibalas, who carry the Afrobeat banner to a new generation of listeners.
Back in 2010, photographer James Petrozzello paid homage to the original Queens of the Kalakuta Republic by photographing the FELA! dancers representing each queen. Each portrait captures the striking style, captivating beauty and energy of the queens, each depicting gorgeous African beauties.
In an interview with Okayafrica, James said, “I have been a long time fan of Fela Kuti – the musician, the political figure, the icon.” He went on to say, “The first time I saw his ‘queens’ I was struck by their radical style. I wanted to make these photos to pay homage to their beauty and to bring attention to the women who contributed so much to Fela’s life.”
Models: Rujeko Dumbutshena, Catherine Foster, Abena Koomson, Jill Vallery, Shaneeka Harrell, Shakira Marshall, Lauren De Veaux, Oneika Phillips, Hettie Barnhill, Iris Wilson, Aimee Graham Wodobode.
These images, these FELA QUEENS have the inspired visual culture of Afrocentric sensuality and pride that has become the muse of many artists and photographers alike. Indeed, the iconic visuals of the FELA! The Musical and Petrozzello’s captures were part of foundational motivation for Pangea’s Garden. Creatives in the Garden have, on occasion, created captures with this cultural aesthetic in mind and expect to look here soon to see more explorations into this aspect of the Afrosensual Aesthetic.
In meantime, what do you think of James Petrozzello’s works?
[…] couple of weeks ago, we featured the FELA-inspired works of James Petrozello. Inspired by the color and passion of the FELA Broadway Musical and the afrobeats that fuel it, I, […]