One of Festival Nuit d’Afrique’s great return performers! Femi Kuti and his Positive Forcea 14-member Afrobeat and jazz orchestra, complete with colourful dancersreally left their mark on the Montréal during the festival’s 32nd edition!

The surname of the immortal King of Afrobeat fits this gifted son of Fela Kuti like a crown. Born in London in 1962, Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti began his musical journey in Lagos where his father introduced him to the saxophone, an instrument he mastered so well that Fela Kuti brought him into his legendary Africa 70 band. This immersion into Afrobeat has influenced Femi Kuti throughout his career. With his virtuoso sax and trumpet playing and his earnest vocals, the Nigerian artist followed in his father’s footsteps and, in 1986, he also began defining his own musical heritage by gathering together outstanding musicians to form his own band, The Positive Force.

Now in his sixties, the singer-songwriter still cultivates his inspiration by invoking the supreme energies that underpin his talent and his strong convictions. In early 2025, he condemned political excesses on his short, three-song album Oga Doctor, with “Politics Don Expose Them.” The focus of his fight remains as relevant as ever and his lyrics about “deceiving politicians with their corrupt and hidden agendas” is just as forceful. Keen to uphold the Kuti tradition, he collaborated with his eldest son Made on his double-album Legacy +, whose track “Free Your Mind” was an instant hit in the early 2020s.

If the singer is still touring the globe, it’s because the world really needs to wake up. With explosive energy, he takes to the stage for his compatriots, Nigeria’s forgotten ones. Injustice, human misery and the fate of Africa are distilled in his repertoire of funk, R&B, reggae, hip-hop and electro, with a touch of Caribbean and Afro-American rhythms. His fans can be found the world over, including in France where he gave an exhilarating performance in 2024 at the Nuits de Fourvière that led to an ARTE documentary. Get ready for some high-spirited fist pumping and to dance for a better world in the company of Femi Kuti and his Positive Force!