Made Kuti, grandson of the legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has revealed that despite the late icon’s monumental success and wealth during his lifetime, he died penniless not because of mismanagement, but due to his boundless generosity.
Speaking in a candid conversation on the Tea With Tay podcast, Made painted a picture of a man who gave more than he ever kept for himself.
“Fela was broke. He died poor,” said the young musician and instrumentalist. “He was the kind of person who, when he made a bunch of cash, the kind of money that could have bought the whole street, he would just give it away.”
Fela’s residence, famously known as the Kalakuta Republic, operated under what Made described as an “open house policy.” Strangers and friends alike could walk in and out freely — a radical form of hospitality that blurred social lines and emphasized the Afrobeat legend’s belief in equality.
“He’d come back from a show, open a box of money and just tell anyone who needed cash to take it,” Made recounted. “His children weren’t even allowed to call him ‘dad’ or ‘father’ — he wanted no sense of privilege. In Kalakuta, everyone was equal.”
Made Kuti, son of Femi Kuti, is continuing the family’s musical legacy as a songwriter and performer, fusing Afrobeat traditions with contemporary sounds.
Fela Kuti, who passed away on August 2, 1997, remains one of Africa’s most influential cultural figures. His music, a fiery blend of funk, jazz, and African rhythms carried powerful political messages that often put him at odds with Nigeria’s military regimes.
In 1970, Fela declared the Kalakuta Republic as an independent commune, thumbing his nose at government control. It became a symbol of resistance, creativity, and community until it was destroyed during a brutal military raid in 1978. He was later jailed in 1984 during the regime of Muhammadu Buhari.
Despite relentless persecution, Fela never stopped creating. Through the 1980s and ’90s, he continued to record and perform, using music as both a weapon and a lifeline for the oppressed.
