Erykah Badu to curate Fela box set

Badu’s selection will be sold in a limited run of 3 000 copies as Fela Kuti Box Set #4. The set includes Fela music spanning several years. The collection ranges from 1992’s Underground System, 1984’s Army Arrangement to Yellow Fever from 1976 and 1977’s No Agreement.

“Fela Kuti is a f*ck*ng genius,” Badu said. “Please listen to these tracks, preferably with a nice blunt…with a nice slow burn.”

Collectors and fans of both Fela and Badu are in for a treat, as Badu has written seven personal essays to accompany her selection. Also included, as an official statement states, are “in-depth commentaries by veteran music journalist and Afrobeat historian, Chris May” and Erykah Badu's "favorite Fela Piece of all time."

In a conversation with Music in Africa, Rikki Stein, who managed Fela till his death and was in Lagos for the now concluded Felabration festival, expressed his admiration for the four-time Grammy winner. Attending one of her concerts, he said, left him “Badufied.”

Below, listen to 'Coffin For Head of State Part 2', one of Erykah Badu's selection: