Introduction
When Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is remembered, he is remembered as the fearless genius who invented Afrobeat. He is remembered as the voice of the people, the Black President, the man who stood against military dictatorships and sang truth to power. He is remembered as the global icon who inspired generations of artists across the world.
But Fela did not become Fela alone.
There was another man—a quiet, unassuming saxophonist from Ijebu-Jesa—who saw something in the young, trumpet-wielding Fela Kuti long before the world did. His name was Orlando Julius Ekemode. And when Fela was ready to form his first band, Julius did something extraordinary: he gave him some of his own musicians.
In Julius's own words: "Fela came to my club every week and when he formed his own band in 1964, I gave him four members of my group to get him started." Among those musicians were Eddie Fayehun, Isiaka Adio, and Ojo Ekeji—the very men who would form the rhythmic backbone of Fela's first band, Koola Lobitos.
This is the untold story of how Orlando Julius made Fela Anikulapo.
Orlando Julius: The Son of Ijebu-Jesa
Orlando Julius Aremu Olusanya Ekemode was born in 1943 in Ikole-Ekiti, in present-day Ekiti State, Nigeria, during the British colonial era. He was, however, a native of Ijebu-Jesa (Ijebu-Ijesha) in Osun State—a fact he himself confirmed in interviews.
He was the son of Adeojo Ekemode, a trader and shopkeeper, and his second wife, Tinuola Dorcas, who farmed and made handwoven cloth. His first music teacher was his mother. As a child, he would sing with her and play drums "while she worked on the yarn", and he later said, "I knew that music was the way for me." He played drums and flute at St Peter's Anglican School in Ikole, but left when he was 14, after the death of his father.
Making his way to Ibadan, he worked at a bakery as he tried to get experience with local bands, initially playing drums in the Action Group, run by Jazz Romero, and studying at the Ibadan music school. He went on to work with other leading musicians, including Eddy Okonta and I.K. Dairo.
But Julius had other ideas. He was listening to John Coltrane, Otis Redding, and Smokey Robinson, and he wanted to make his own soul music. In 1964, he formed his own band, the Modern Aces. The group developed a strong local following thanks to Julius's experiments in mixing highlife and other African styles with American influences—and the young Fela Kuti took note.
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: The Son of Abeokuta
Fela was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti on 15 October 1938 in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, into a middle-class family. His family belonged to the Egba branch of the Yoruba tribe. His father, like his grandfather, was a minister of the Protestant church and director of the local grammar school. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was a teacher who later became a politician of considerable influence and a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement.
Fela was sent to London in 1958 to study medicine but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music. He started out as a jazz musician but shifted toward pop and reggae while studying in England from 1959 to 1962.
When Fela returned to Nigeria in the early 1960s, he was a young, ambitious musician looking for his own sound. He found it—partly—in the clubs of Ibadan, where Orlando Julius and his Modern Aces were revolutionising Nigerian music.
How They Met: The Clubs of Ibadan
Fela and Orlando Julius first crossed paths in the early 1960s in Ibadan, a major Nigerian cultural centre. Julius, already a formidable bandleader with his ten-piece Modern Aces, was performing regularly at venues like the University of Ibadan and the Independence Hotel.
Fela, freshly returned from London and looking to get his own mojo working, was a regular visitor at Julius's shows. He frequently sat in with the band, soaking up Julius's innovative fusion of highlife, soul, R&B, and funk.
Julius recounted their connection: "Fela came to my club every week to check out what we were doing. He sat in with us; he was still playing the trumpet in those days and hadn't taken up the saxophone."
The two musicians had very different personalities. Julius was easy-going, not interested in writing political songs, and had a more conventional lifestyle. Fela was intense, rebellious, and increasingly drawn to political activism. But they were both adventurous musicians with eclectic tastes.
And Julius, rather than seeing Fela as a rival, decided to help him.
The Gift: Three Band Members
When Fela was ready to form his own band, he needed musicians. Julius, who had already built a formidable group in the Modern Aces, did something remarkable. He gave Fela some of his own men.
In his own words: "I gave him some of my musicians – Eddie Fayehun, Isiaka Adio, and Ojo Ekeji – to get him started."
These were not just any musicians; they were integral members of Julius's Modern Aces. Their roles were significant:
· Eddie Fayehun played trumpet and would later become a chief in Akure.
· Isiaka Adio played the conga drums.
· Ojo Ekeji was the bassist—a musician whose "deft jazziness on the bass" impressed Fela immediately.
The impact of this act cannot be overstated. By giving these men to Fela, Julius provided the entire rhythmic and melodic core for Fela's first professional band, Koola Lobitos.
And there was more. Ojo Ekeji, the bassist, would go on to introduce Fela to the legendary drummer Tony Allen, the man who would become the rhythmic engine of Fela's greatest years. In a very real sense, the entire architecture of Fela's classic sound can be traced back to the musicians Orlando Julius gave away.
Orlando Julius's Contributions to Fela
Julius's contribution to Fela's career went far beyond the gift of three band members. He was a mentor, an inspiration, and a creative catalyst.
He taught Fela the saxophone. Multiple sources confirm that it was because of Orlando Julius that Fela learned to play the saxophone. Julius himself stated: "Na because of me Fela Anikulapo begin love to play di saxophone." Fela was inspired to learn the saxophone after witnessing the Modern Aces live.
He provided a musical blueprint. Fela and Julius pioneered Afrobeat after practising highlife. It is true that Fela drew inspiration from a variety of musical heavyweights across the globe, but in terms of tangible impact, fellow Nigerian Julius is the name to beat. Julius's experiments in fusing highlife with American soul, R&B, and funk were years ahead of their time. His debut album Super Afro Soul (1966) was a major influence on Fela Kuti and Afrobeat.
He gave Fela a platform. Julius sometimes brought Fela on stage to perform alongside him, giving the young musician exposure and experience.
He influenced James Brown, who influenced Fela. Julius has been credited as one of the key figures in the invention, development, and popularization of Afro-pop, influencing artists such as Hugh Masekela, Fela Kuti, and James Brown.
The Legacies of Both Men
Orlando Julius: The Forgotten Pioneer
Orlando Julius died on 15 April 2022, at the age of 79. He was a saxophonist, singer, bandleader, and songwriter closely associated with Afrobeat music.
His career spanned six decades. He formed the Modern Aces in 1964, released Super Afro Soul in 1966, and later moved to the United States in the mid-1970s, where he recorded and toured with the South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. He eventually returned to Nigeria in 1998 and watched with astonishment as reissues of his 1960s recordings found a new cult following on specialist crate-digging labels. It led to a late-career renaissance which found him touring internationally and recording an album with the London-based jazz collective The Heliocentrics.
Yet, as one tribute noted, "The man who taught Fela Kuti a thing or two has been all but erased from formal music history." His legacy is one of generosity and innovation—a reminder that the greatest artists are not always the most celebrated.
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: The Black President
Fela died on 2 August 1997, at the age of 58. In the 1970s, he invented Afrobeat: a mixture of jazz, funk, and African rhythms that laid the groundwork for Afrobeats—a later genre that has attracted a global audience by blending traditional African rhythms with contemporary pop sounds.
Fela was posthumously recognised by the Grammys with a Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first African artist to receive the distinction. "Fela's influence spans generations, inspiring artists such as Beyonce, Paul McCartney, and Thom Yorke, and shaping modern Nigerian Afrobeats," said the Grammy citation.
Known also as the "Black President", the activist and legendary musician remains a cultural icon in Nigeria. In his music, he lashed out at political corruption and bad governance, making him a symbol of resistance against military dictatorships. His legacy lives on through his sons, Femi Kuti and Seun Kuti, and his grandson, Made Kuti.
What We Can Learn from Them
The story of Orlando Julius and Fela Anikulapo-Kuti teaches us several profound lessons.
Generosity builds legacies. Orlando Julius gave away some of his best musicians to help a friend start a band. He did not hoard his talent or his resources. He understood that lifting others up does not diminish you—it multiplies your impact. Fela became Fela partly because Julius was generous enough to let him.
Mentorship matters. Julius taught Fela the saxophone. He gave him a stage to perform on. He provided a musical blueprint that Fela would later transform into Afrobeat. Every great artist stands on the shoulders of those who came before.
Credit the pioneers. Too often, history remembers the famous and forgets the foundational. Orlando Julius's contributions to Afrobeat have been largely erased from formal music history. We must be intentional about honouring those whose shoulders we stand on.
Talent transcends circumstance. Fela was born into a middle-class family and educated in London. Julius was the son of a trader who dropped out of school at 14 and worked in a bakery. Both became giants of African music. Your background does not limit your destiny.
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Elegy for Two Titans:
Two sons of Nigeria, different lands,
One from Ijebu-Jesa, one from Abeokuta's sands,
One with a bakery's flour on his hands,
One with a trumpet and a dream that expands.
Orlando, the quiet, the unassuming sage,
Who gave away his band to turn a new page,
Who taught a young Fela to hold the sax tight,
And gave him the musicians to start the fight.
Fela, the fire, the fearless, the loud,
Who wore the Black President like a shroud,
Who sang against power and sang against lies,
With Africa's heartbeat behind his eyes.
One built the foundation, the other the tower,
One gave the seed, the other the flower,
Together they wove what the world would call sound,
Afrobeat's heartbeat, the world's sacred ground.
Rest now, Orlando, forgotten no more,
Your name on the rhythm, your hand on the door,
Rest now, Fela, the Black President,
Your legacy lives where the people are sent.
Two men, one music, one story, one soul,
Two different paths that made Africa what it is.
Conclusion
I.K. Dairo was mocked for his lack of education. He became the Shakespeare of Music. Orlando Julius was the son of a trader who dropped out of school. He became the man who made Fela Kuti possible. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was the rebellious son of a middle-class family. He became the Black President of Afrobeat.
Their stories are not just stories of individual genius. They are stories of connection, of generosity, of one person lifting another. Orlando Julius gave three of his band members to Fela Anikulapo—Eddie Fayehun, Isiaka Adio, and Ojo Ekeji—and in doing so, he gave the world a gift it is still unwrapping today.
Your talent is not just for you. It is for the people you will inspire, the musicians you will teach, the seeds you will plant in others. Orlando Julius understood that. And because he did, Fela became Fela.
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