8. Fela KutiTeacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense
When I first learned about Fela it was 2007. That was when I met my future wife. I was working at this place on the Southside of Chicago, 59th and Western, called Speedway, working on cars, changing oil, doing transmissions and services. She picked me up and we were riding around listening to this music.
I wasn’t familiar with the name, which was Fela Kuti. She started giving me a history and I was like, ‘I’m enjoying this, just let it play.’ When we really got together, she had so many other joints from him. It was outstanding. When I learned about his history, I realised he’d be out for years and had passed. It taught me that being in the States, you miss listening to a lot of music unless you have it. It taught me to really keep my ears open to what is out there.
