Favourite Vintage Collabs: Fela x Roy Ayers
United by their Pan-Africanist ideals, Nigerian Afrobeat icon and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and American jazz-funk pioneer Roy Ayers joined forces in the late 1970s for a musical collaboration. Following a reportedly chaotic three-week tour in Nigeria, the two artists recorded an album in 1979 titled Music of Many Colours: a joint project that brought together their distinct yet complementary styles.
Released in 1980, the album merged Afrobeat, jazz-funk, and soul into a rich and genre-blending statement. It featured just two expansive tracks: “2000 Blacks Got To Be Free” and “Africa – Center Of The World”, each nearly twenty minutes long. The tour and the resulting album not only marked a creative milestone but also forged a lasting bond between Ayers and Anikulapo-Kuti.
Ayers’ presence in Nigeria and his willingness to immerse himself in Fela’s world (politically charged, rhythmically complex, and unapologetically African) underscored the power of music as a tool for unity and resistance. Their collaboration stood as both a musical triumph and a powerful gesture of solidarity across the Black Atlantic.