Femi Kuti, Yeni publish late mother’s memoir

Yeni and Femi Kuti, children of the late Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, have published their late mother, Remilekun Anikulapo-Kuti’s memoir titled Mrs Kuti.

The older sibling, Yeni, shared the news on her Instagram page on Monday when she posted a video of Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka holding a copy of the book. She also announced that the book could be preordered.

Her post read, ‘‘Femi and I have finally published our mum’s book, thanks to @ouidabooks. It has taken us all these years. She passed on 23 years ago at the young age of 60. I am 63 now, almost 64, so I know how young that was. I hope you enjoy her account of her life with Fela’’.

Femi had announced that their mum wrote the book years ago but never published it.

The memoir explores Mrs Kuti’s turbulent years with Fela, documenting personal and shared struggles as they journeyed through fame.

‘‘The memoir is an account of my life from the day I was born before I met Fela, and after he entered it like a comet in 1959. I think of him and will, as long as I live—my love is the forever kind,’’ an excerpt from the description partly read.

Description

The book’s description reads, ‘‘Without regret or rancour, Remilekun Anikulapo-Kuti invites us into her extraordinary life as a love interest, the wife and the estranged partner of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the Afrobeat legend.

“Her writing takes us from years in a home for orphaned children in the English Midlands to London, where she met the dashing Fela at a party, to moving to Nigeria, where Remilekun navigates culture shock, the complexities of love and loss, and the joys of motherhood.

Remilekun is unabatingly honest about her thoughts on marriage, justice, music, and Nigerian society from the 1960s to the 1990s.’’

Our beautiful new book MRS KUTI is out on 13 January 2025.

It’s impossible to read Remilekun Anikulapo-Kuti’s memoir & not feel strong emotions—joy, fear, pity, hope, anger, frustration etc. Told with poetic candour & a keen eye, big moments in 🇳🇬 music history play out in VHS. https://t.co/oAOP7ITLCI pic.twitter.com/E1KvW4zadC

— Lọlá Shónẹ́yìn (@lolashoneyin) December 22, 2024

Mrs Kuti, Fela’s first wife, was born on 12 July 1941 in London. She received her early education in Lagos, Nigeria. After moving to London, she attended Princess Alice School and Home in Sutton Coldfield, England.

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On 7 January 1961, Remi married the emerging musician Olufela Ransome-Kuti, who would become the celebrated Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. They had three children: Yeni, Femi and Sola (1963 – 1997).

Remilekun Anikulapo-Kuti passed away on 12 January 2002 in Lagos, Nigeria. Mrs Kuti is her first and only book.