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African Artistes Who Had A ‘Presidential’ Funeral
Around the world, music has an impact on all aspects of life, even on the most depressing occasions. People who are impacted by the song frequently come out to offer their support as a show of appreciation or unity.
In certain instances, the passing of African musicians has transcended mere mourning, evolving into profound moments of acknowledgment and reverence. Mp3bullet walks through the burials of three African music icons, where their farewells were marked by honors akin to those bestowed upon presidents. These ceremonies were characterized by an overwhelming turnout of well-wishers paying their final respects, imbued with an atmosphere of reverence and heroic ambiance.
African Artistes Who Had A ‘Presidential’ Burial
- Fela Kuti – Nigeria
Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist who was born on October 15, 1938 and passed away on August 2, 1997. Regarded as the King of Afrobeat, he is a Nigerian music genre that blends jazz and funk from the United States with West African music. He was described as one of Africa’s most “challenging and charismatic music performers” at the height of his fame. AllMusic referred to him as “a musical and sociopolitical voice” of global importance.
Afrobeat was created by Kuti, fusing tight horn arrangements, thrilling polyrhythms, politically motivated lyrical content, and the raw guitars and jazzy undercurrents of traditional highlife. Throughout the 1970s, Kuti had an unmatched hot streak marked by numerous thrilling live performances and genre-defining Afrobeat records like 1977’s Zombie and 1975’s Expensive Shit. His music will have a lasting impact on the world long after he passed away in 1997. He was a star in Nigeria at the time. As the ideas that Kuti was working on made their way into new sounds from jazz performers, American rock acts like the Talking Heads, and fresh waves of Afrobeat revivalists, countless musicians would eventually catch up with the vision that he established in his prime in the 1970s.
Afrobeat originated with Fela and evolved into a contagious and exciting phenomenon for future generations.
He was a cultural outlaw and the voice of Nigeria’s underprivileged. The military dictatorship in Nigeria attempted to put an end to this, and from the time Fela returned to Nigeria until his passing, the government was hellbent on keeping him quiet. They harassed, imprisoned, and threatened to kill him. In 1977, a second government-approved attack on his Kalakuta compound by 1,000 Nigerian soldiers was one of the most heinous acts of violence against him. Fela was left with multiple broken bones, including a shattered skull; his mother, who was 82 years old, was flung from an upstairs window, suffering life-threatening injuries. Firefighters were unable to access the property because the military had set it on fire. His musical instruments and recording studio were destroyed.
On August 3, 1997, Kuti’s brother, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, a well-known AIDS activist and former health minister, declared that Kuti had passed away the day before due to problems associated with the disease. Due to Kuti’s denial of AIDS, his widow insisted that he did not pass away from the disease. Seun, his youngest son, assumed the position of leader of Kuti’s previous band, Egypt 80. The group is still going strong in 2022, putting forth music under the name Seun Kuti & Egypt 80.
One million people attended Fela Kuti’s burial, according to reports. The crammed Tafawa Balewa Square was where he was lying in state. Everything on Lagos Island was closed. 500,000 people participated in the march from TBS to Fela’s Ikeja residence, Kalakuta.
2. DJ Arafat – Ivory Coast
Ange Didier Houon, known as DJ Arafat, was an Ivorian singer and disc jockey who was born on January 26, 1986. He produced music in the Coupé-Décalé genre. Among his greatest hits were “Jonathan,” “202,” “Dosabado,” “Kpangor,” “Zoropoto,” and “Enfant Beni.” He was well-liked in French-speaking Africa and was the 2016 and 2017 Coupé-Decalé Awards’ Best Artist of the Year winner.
He was regarded as one of the most well-known African musicians worldwide by Francophone nations. Sometime in 2009, he rose to fame in his genre.
Throughout his fifteen-year career, he published eleven albums, most of them in the well-known “Coupé-Décalé” dance music genre.
He was dubbed the “king” of Coupé-Décalé by the BBC; the term “cut and run” means “to cheat someone and run away” in Ivorian dialect, and it originated during the country’s civil conflict in the early 2000s. Rap-style vocals, heavy bass, and quick percussion are all featured in the song. Arafat came to represent the ostentatious, elegant lifestyle that the music is connected to. Dosabado is one of his most well-known songs. He enjoyed riding motorbikes, and in May 2019, he included one in his hit song, “Moto Moto.” He was involved in several motorbike accidents, one of which was quite serious in 2009. Arafat lost his life in a motorcycle accident in 2019.
At the nation’s primary stadium, tens of thousands of admirers of Ivorian musician DJ Arafat—the face of the wildly popular musical genre known as “coupe-decale”—gave him an incredible farewell.
A-list African celebrities, including Davido, Sidiki Diabate, Fally Ipupa, and Serge Beynaud, performed throughout the evening in honor of the music icon, who passed away on August 12 at the age of 33 following a motorcycle accident in Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast.
He received the National Order of Cultural Excellence from Ivory Coast’s Minister of Culture, Maurice Bandaman, before the ceremony in recognition of “his immense contribution to the artistic radiance” of the country.
Arafat gained popularity throughout the continent in 2012 when he was selected “Best African Artist” in the pan-African Kora Music Awards. He went on to win Best Musician of the Year twice at the Coupe-Decale Awards in 2016 and 2017.
3. Miriam Makeba – South Africa
Zenzile Miriam Makeba, nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. She was born on March 4, 1932. Associated with world, jazz, and Afropop music, she was a vocal opponent of South Africa’s white-minority government and apartheid.
Known for her classics like “Pata Pata” and “The Click Song,” Makeba was a well-known vocalist in Africa who also voiced her opposition to apartheid.
In 1960, the white-run government in South Africa stripped Makeba of her citizenship and even forbade her from going back to attend her mother’s funeral. The singer lived in Europe, Guinea, and the United States for more than thirty years during her exile.
In 1965, Makeba won a Grammy for Best Folk Recording with American vocalist Harry Belafonte. However, once she starred in an anti-apartheid movie, her music was banned in her native country.
She shared the stage with American musician Paul Simon at his 1987 Graceland concert in Zimbabwe when she was still living in exile.
After Nelson Mandela was released from prison in the 1990s, she eventually returned home.
However, she had to search the South African record industry for six years before she was able to find a collaborator to make a record. She gave it the title Homeland.
After playing in an Italian concert, she passed away that night. 76 was her age.
Ms. Makeba was rushed to the private Pineta Grande clinic in Castel Volturno, near Naples, by ambulance, and the doctor there, Vincenza Di Saia, said that the cause was cardiac arrest. The doctor claimed that midnight was the time of death recorded in the hospital’s records.
According to South African officials, Ms. Makeba passed out while exiting the platform. After writing about organized crime, Roberto Saviano received death threats. She was singing at a performance in favor of Saviano.
A large concert hall in Johannesburg served as the venue for a public memorial service for singing star Miriam Makeba, who died during a performance in Italy, according to a spokeswoman.
The tribute was held at South Africa’s premier performance venue, the Coca-Cola Dome, which can hold up to 20,000 people.
In remembrance of the Grammy-winning singer whose singing exposed people worldwide to apartheid, South Africa observed a day of national mourning.