The author’s life, literary trips and adventures have taken him across Africa with music as a constant companion
I first heard Fela as a teenager in Kenya, when his song Lady was popular. Later I listened to more of his music – mostly in Boston where Prof Victor Manfredi, a linguist of Yoruba, was teaching and I was doing my MA in creative writing. Victor would have us over for beer, goat and Fela. Years later I was in Lagos for the Ake book festival and the first night stop was The Shrine, the famous venue started by Fela where people could listen to him for free. It was almost like the whole of Lagos was there to drink palm wine, smoke weed, listen to and dance to music. It’s like Woodstock festival – only at the Shrine it happens every night.
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Source: Gaurdian