The popular Nigerian musician Femi Kuti has disclosed the reason he decided to leave his father, Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s band many years ago.
Femi, who is the first son of the late Afrobeat legend, during a recent interview with the Afropolitan Podcast, stated that he was under his father’s shadow which was making it hard for him to find his own path in life.
He said while growing up, people always expected him to become like his father, which put him under a lot of pressure.
“In school, everybody would ask if I was going to be like my dad or play music like him. I was pressured to be like my father,” Femi recalled.
“At a point, I realised I needed to find myself fast, or else I was going to be a very unhappy man. That was why I went back to stay with my mother,” the 63-year-old musician said.
“The moment I formed my band, Fela’s fan base descended on me. It was very difficult to find a good write-up about me then because the press hated me. At that time, there was no internet where I could defend myself.
“Being under my father, I didn’t have any possibility of my own life, including having children. I saw my life in his life,” he added.