In his early music, and even up until 1971's ‘Egbe Mi O’, Fela Kuti had sang in Yoruba, the language of his ancestors and that of Yoruba people, a West African ethnic group. On Why Black Man Dey Suffer, from the same year, he also sings in Pidgin English and continued to do so for much of his career.
This was arguably one of the most important decisions Fela ever made. By singing in Pidgin, his messages could spread across much of Africa. Fela’s intention to unite the continent was signalled by his renaming of the band from Nigeria 70 to Africa 70.
One of three albums released in ’71, Why Black Man Dey Suffer was like many of Fela’s in containing only two tracks. Fela being Fela, those two songs added up to 28 minutes of music. Later he would compose individual songs that would exceed that length. The title track is an early example of one of Fela’s trademarks as a composer: instruments and polyrhythms are introduced gradually, and the suspense is built over several minutes before there’s any singing.
The tenor guitar establishes the fundamental rhythm; as Fela says: “This rhythm is called Kanginni Koko, used in some particular kind of shrines in my home town, Abeokuti City.” The bass finds gaps in the guitar’s line, with more sustain than the tight guitar notes. Then the rhythm guitar is introduced, forming a pair of polyrhythmic guitars, often favoured by both Fela and James Brown (such as on ‘Open & Close’, also of 1971).
This was the year Fela stopped playing trumpet, saying it was damaging his lips. He switched to electric keys. Tony Njoku plays trumpet – one musician in what sounds like an army of horn players. In the instrumental opening, tenor saxophonist Igo Chico Okwechime solos in unhurried, smooth phrases with just enough punch to hint at the main horn riff.
It’s six minutes until that gnarly riff is first played, and seven minutes until the vocal. The horns provide a kind of call-and-response with Fela when he sings of Black people’s history: “Some people come from far away land / Them take our people land, spoil our towns”; “Our riches them take away to their land / In return them give us their colony / Them take our culture away from us / Them give us them culture we no understand”.
Drums are played by both Tony Allen and Ginger Baker, who became a longtime friend of Fela’s and joined the group for a live in-studio album the same year.
In 2013, Paul McCartney discussed seeing Fela perform live with Africa 70 (sometimes spelled Afrika 70). The experience was so powerful that McCartney was moved to tears.
Perhaps due to the decades that have passed, or perhaps due to what McCartney was smoking, his memory appears to be a little hazy. He hadn’t been able to identify the song he heard that night for over 40 years. But it made a big enough impression for him to remember the riff.
McCartney plays the riff of ‘Why Black Men Dey Suffer’, but the lyrics he remembers— “Shakara”, “Woman”—are likely from Fela’s ‘Shakara (Oloje)’ and ‘Lady’. McCartney does acknowledge, “But I’ve got a song called ‘Shakara’ and it’s nothing like [‘Why Black Men Dey Suffer’].”
The Beatle also collaborated with Baker, who played percussion on the Wings song ‘Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)’.
Top image from Bandcamp.