Fela at Falomo, Lagos
After an enjoyable 2 hour lunch at nearby Reeds (the best Thai in Lagos), I took my Janded friend Es to Quintessence and Glendora at Falomo. She remembered Falomo from her early childhood, when it was THE shopping centre in Lagos.
Coming out of Quintessence we heard a sound - a live band was playing nearby. They were playing the intro to my favourite Fela song, Water No Get Enemy. We danced and sang along. There was no audience, just a few people working nearby. Soon enough, everyone started to dance. Fela is the soul of Lagos. In two hundred years time, he'll join Sango and Eshu as one of the Orisas. What fortune to have lived in his time..
Sorry about the poor quality - it was taken from my cameraphone..
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6 comments:
I'm watching this in Atlanta with a huuuge grin on my face...I miss Naija like crazy; there's no place like home. Thanks for the video. Please post some more street scenes from Lagos...N.B.
Jeremiah, was dat u shouting at d background?
Water no get Enemy is one of my too:)
Watching this video brings back all the memories of the Man who introduced me to Fela; my Uncle.
Everyday, on my way back from school, I knew that I was going to be listening to the "bad man" if he was back from work (I can't recall why folks thought Fela was bad).
ANyhow, I hated Fela then (cos my friends would tease me about my uncle). But now, I find myself returning to all the fela songs he used to play ( Fela, Lucky Dube, Peter Tosh, Marley).
Now, am the one thanking the heavens for my uncle:)
Everyday, on my way back from school, I knew that I was going to be listening to the "bad man" if he was back from work (I can't recall why folks thought Fela was bad).
Well, there were any number of reasons why people thought Fela was "bad." lessee...
-smoked dope? check.
-walked around half-naked? yup?
-surrounded himself with half-naked women? yessiree!
-married 26 of these half-naked women? mm-hm!
-frequently blasphemed against Christianity and Islam? he did so!
-seen as a patron saint to thieves, thugs and touts? *sigh* yes...
we could go on...
Great work Jeremy. Falomo brings back so many memories.
I am particularly pleased to read that Quintessence and Glendora are still in existence. Glendora single handedly nourished this young.
GREETINGS:
This is great, but you got the WRONG SONG TITLE: The song they're warming up is NOT "Water..." It's "Lady."
I know 'cuz I used to play it in Fela's band with him.
--Baba Ken Okulolo
www.AfricanMusicSource.com
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