Organized by MASIMAS LIVE
Justice Kunle bass player · Mario Kevin Jean & Marc Orsinet drummer · Fabrice Edouard Fila tenor sax · Anis Mohammed Cherif Benhallak guitarist · Valentin Pellet trumpet · Edidiong Blessing Eshiet dancer and backing vocals · Nicolas Sakelario baritone · Oluwaseun Anikulapo Kuti singer, keys, sax, lead vocals
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 — Committed Afrobeat and a Pan-African Legacy
Seun Kuti is one of the most magnetic presences in contemporary African music: a musician, singer, composer, and Pan-African activist with a vibrant, high-energy live show. The youngest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, he has dedicated his life to preserving (and expanding) a political and musical legacy driven not by nostalgia, but by urgency. A continually evolving saxophonist and percussionist, he joined the band Egypt 80 before the age of 12.
In 1997, following Fela’s death and in accordance with his wishes, Seun took over the leadership of Egypt 80, a role he still holds today. His social commitment is inseparable from the stage: he has taken part in campaigns such as #OccupyNigeria and #EndSARS, and has revived the Movement of the People (M.O.P.), the party founded by his father in 1979 and soon after repressed by the military government.
His discography with Egypt 80 traces this evolution: Many Things (2008), From Africa with Fury: Rise (2011), co-produced by Brian Eno and John Reynolds, A Long Way Beginning (2014), and Black Times (2018), Grammy-nominated and featuring Carlos Santana. At the same time, Seun has built global alliances: African Dreams (2022) with Black Thought; collaborations on Janelle Monáe’s The Age of Pleasure (2023) on “Float” and “Knows Better”; and crossovers with Talib Kweli and Madlib on Liberation 2, as well as a new version of “Bad Man Lighter” with Black Thought and Vic Mensa. He sums it up clearly: “The world has become one big commercial village […] There are artists who just copy and paste […] But there are also young people everywhere making exciting music.”
His latest album is Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head) (2024), released by Record Kicks six years after Black Times. Executive-produced by Lenny Kravitz and with artistic production by Sodi Marciszewer (Fela’s original engineer), it features guests such as Damian Marley and Sampa The Great. Singles like “DEY” (feat. Damian Marley, presented at the Grammys for Best African Music Performance), “T.O.P.” and “Stand Well Well” reinforce an Afrobeat that is rooted, sharp, and contemporary. As Seun says: “The album was written for the consciousness of the working class […] Since big corporations have taken over music, many people have felt insecure or ‘less than’. My album is the opposite of that materialism.” In 2025, the deluxe edition adds collaborations with De La Soul, Adi Oasis, Kamasi Washington, Don Letts, Alborosie, and more.
Why you can’t miss it: because Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 bring Afrobeat to its highest musical and political expression—message, community, and an energy that is instantly contagious.
Standing concert.
