- Seun Kuti stated that people only knew of Fela’s 27 wives, but they didn’t know of his over 100 concubines.
- He revealed that at the time, his father’s 100 concubines were all living with them in the same house
Afrobeats singer Seun Kuti, recently shared some surprising information about his father, legendary musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti.
During a recent episode of the ‘Bahd & Boujee‘ Podcast hosted by Tolanibaj and Moet Abebe, Seun Kuti revealed that Fela had over 100 concubines.
Seun Kuti explained that there were over 100 more women who were living with them in his father’s house.
He said:
“People only know of Fela’s 27 wives, they don’t know of his over 100 girlfriends that lived with us in the house”.
Recall that Seun Kuti had earlier revealed Why his father Fela married 27 women in one day.
In a recent appearance on the ‘Fresh Off The Boat’ podcast via Skype, Seun Kuti revealed that his father’s decision to marry 27 women simultaneously was a deliberate attempt to protect their reputation and dignity.
This extraordinary event, which took place in 1978, has long been a topic of fascination and curiosity.
At the time, the media was subjecting Fela’s female dancers and band members, who lived with him, to intense scrutiny and labeling them as “prost!tutes.”
According to Seun Kuti, his father was under so much pressure from the media, which was largely focused on the women in his life. To combat the negative attention and preserve their honor, Fela asked these women if they would be willing to formalize their relationships with him through marriage.
He said:
“My father was under immense media propaganda. He was very scrutinised. And most of it were directed to the women that were in his life; his female back-up singers, dancers. They all lived together with my dad but the media started calling them prostitutes.
“So my dad, in order to preserve their honour and dignity, asked them if they would choose to be his brides so nobody would call them names anymore and they all agreed. That was how the marriage happened.”
