Beasts of No Nation (album)

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Beasts of No Nation
Studio album by
Fela Kuti
Released1989
LabelShanachie[1]
ProducerWally Badarou
Fela Kuti chronology
Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense
(1986) 		Beasts of No Nation
(1989) 		Confusion Break Bones
(1990)

Beasts of No Nation is an album by the Nigerian musician Fela Kuti.[2][3] It was released in 1989.[4] Kuti is credited with his band Egypt 80.[5]

Kuti played the title track on his 1986 North American tour and promoted it in interviews.[6] The album sold around 15,000 copies in the United States in its first year of release.[7]

The 2005 novel by Uzodinma Iweala takes its title from the album.[8]

Production

Beasts of No Nation was produced by Wally Badarou.[4] Kuti began thinking about the album while in jail for infractions related to foreign currency and wrote the songs after being released.[9][10] The title track accuses the Nigerian government and military of transgressions against the Nigerian populace; among other grievances, the album also condemns apartheid.[11][12][13] Kuti's use of the phrase basket mouth acknowledges his music's responsibility to protest.[14]

The album cover depicts P. W. Botha, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher as horned bloodsuckers.[15] The first line of the title track was inspired by a speech by Botha.[16][17]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[18]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[19]
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide[20]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[21]
Spin Alternative Record Guide4/10[22]

The Gazette called the album "pan-African message music with a capital A for Anger."[23]

AllMusic wrote: "After a few so-so records in the early '80s, Beasts of No Nation was a strong (at times stunning) return to form for Kuti and signaled that his political beliefs kept him from becoming musically lazy."[18] In its 1997 obituary, The Philadelphia Inquirer deemed the album "blunt" and "threatening."[24] Rolling Stone considered it "classic Afro beat."[25]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Just Like That"22:54
2."Beasts of No Nation"12:42

References

  1. ^ Green, Tony (6 Nov 1997). "Cool stuff you may not have heard, yet...". The Florida Times-Union. p. D2.
  2. ^ "Fela Kuti Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Taylor, Steve (September 27, 2006). The A to X of Alternative Music. A&C Black.
  4. ^ a b Thompson, Dave (August 21, 2001). Funk. Hal Leonard Corporation.
  5. ^ Cheyney, Tom (May 17, 1990). "Recordings: Beasts of No Nation". Rolling Stone. No. 578. p. 144.
  6. ^ Hurst, John V. (November 17, 1986). "Fela Casts His Spell with Political Punch". The Sacramento Bee. p. B5.
  7. ^ Boehm, Mike (27 July 1990). "Nigerian Musician Sees Music as a Tool". Los Angeles Times. p. F1.
  8. ^ Eaglestone, Robert (May 26, 2017). The Broken Voice: Reading Post-Holocaust Literature. Oxford University Press.
  9. ^ Shaxson, Nicholas (March 20, 2007). Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil. St. Martin's Publishing Group.
  10. ^ Hoekstra, Dave (November 13, 1986). "Fela mixes U.S., Africa – Militant Afro-Beat creator to play here". Features. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 69.
  11. ^ Carroll, Rachel; Hansen, Adam (May 13, 2016). Litpop: Writing and Popular Music. Routledge.
  12. ^ Block, Robert (24 Feb 1999). "'Soldier Go, Soldier Come' Is the Refrain for Jaded Nigerians". The Wall Street Journal. p. 1.
  13. ^ Shelemay, Kay Kaufman (January 11, 2022). Sing and Sing On: Sentinel Musicians and the Making of the Ethiopian American Diaspora. University of Chicago Press.
  14. ^ Afolayan, Adeshina; Falola, Toyin (January 13, 2022). Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: Afrobeat, Rebellion, and Philosophy. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
  15. ^ Dimery, Robert (June 9, 2020). Cult Musicians: 50 Progressive Performers You Need to Know. Quarto Publishing Group USA.
  16. ^ "Fela insists he's no rebel – he just sings the truth". The Gazette. Montreal. 10 July 1986. p. B8.
  17. ^ Pareles, Jon (7 Nov 1986). "Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Nigeria's Musical Activist". The New York Times. p. C23.
  18. ^ a b "Fela Kuti, Fela Kuti & Egypt 80 Beasts of No Nation". AllMusic.
  19. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 41.
  20. ^ MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 2000. p. 409.
  21. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 409.
  22. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 219.
  23. ^ Feist, Daniel (21 Apr 1990). "Beasts of No Nation Fela Anikulapo Kuti & Egypt 80". The Gazette. p. H13.
  24. ^ Moon, Tom (5 Aug 1997). "Charismatic Fela Put His Passionate Politics in the Groove". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E4.
  25. ^ Goldman, Vivien (Sep 18, 1997). "King of Afro beat dead at 58: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, 1938-1997". Rolling Stone. No. 769. p. 33.


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