RES is Red Hot
Posted 6/27/2002 by Geffen
PRESS RELEASE
FELA KUTI TRIBUTE CD, RED HOT + RIOT!, TO BE RELEASED BY
MCA RECORDS IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE RED HOT ORGANIZATION; PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT AFRICAN AIDS FIGHT
Set Includes Newly-Recorded Fela Kuti Song Collaborations By Who’s-Who of Today’s Top Artists and Fela Kuti Contemporaries
Release Date: October 16, 2002
Artists representing a vast spectrum of musical genres have come together to record a floor-shaking tribute to the late Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Proceeds from the project, Red Hot + RIOT!, the latest in the Red Hot Organization’s well-branded charitable collaborations, will benefit Red Hot’s continued efforts in the fight against AIDS in Africa. Produced by Paul Heck, Red Hot + RIOT! will be released on October 16 by MCA Records, in association with the Red Hot Organization.
A classically-trained saxophonist, pianist and vocalist, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti combined jazz, funk, high life, and traditional African rhythms with barbed political and social messages for an unparalleled musical revolution he called Afrobeat. Fela Kuti is remembered not only for his pioneering musical style, but also for his unwavering commitment to political and social activism in his native Nigeria. Though brutally persecuted for decades by Nigeria’s political and military leaders, he wielded a steely, defiant power to reach a global audience from his home in Lagos. Dedicated to ending political corruption in Nigeria, a vocal commitment that was met with beatings, home-invasion military sieges and imprisonment, Fela was lovingly referred to by the country’s citizens as their ‘Black President’ until his 1997 death from AIDS-related causes at the age of 58.
Fela Kuti-written and inspired artists and tracks on Red Hot + RIOT! include:
Gab and Lateef of Blackalicious - “Kalakuta Show”
The Remedies – “Shuffering and Shmiling (Intro)”
Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Jorge Ben and Bilal - “Shuffering and Shmiling”
Mixmaster Mike - “Gimme Shit (Interlude)”
“Water No Get Enemy (Intro)”
D’Angelo, Femi Kuti, Macy Gray and the Soultronics, Featuring Nile Rodgers and Roy Hargrove - “Water No Get Enemy”
MeShell Ndegeocello and Yerba Buena Featuring Ron Blake - “Gentleman”
Common and Djelimady Tounkara – “Years of Tears and Sorrow”
Cheikh Lo “Shakara/Lady (Part 1)”
Cheikh Lo, Les Nubians and Manu Dibango - “Shakara/Lady (Part 2)”
Bugz in the Attic Featuring Wummi “Zombie (Part 1)”
Nile Rodgers and Roy Hargrove “Zombie (Part 2 – Instrumental)”
RES, Tony Allen, Ray Lema, Baaba Maa;, Positive Black Soul and Archie Shepp – “No Agreement”
Kelis - “So Be It”
Yerba Buena – “Colonial Mentality (Interlude)”
Baaba Maal, Taj Mahal Featuring Kaouding Cissoko – “Trouble Sleep”
The Red Hot Organization is the leading international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through popular culture. Over the past ten years, Red Hot has produced twelve groundbreaking albums and related television programs, incorporating the talents of leading performers, producers, directors and visual artists to raise funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS. To date, these efforts have donated millions for AIDS relief, making the company the largest and most successful AIDS organization in the entertainment industry.
MCA Records has released 26 Fela Kuti CDs since 2000, representing the best-known titles from his prolific studio output, estimated to include over 80 albums. His son, Femi Kuti, continues Fela’s social and political efforts in Nigeria and around the world., and has released two albums on MCA Records, 2000’s Shoki Shoki, and his most recent, Fight To Win, released last fall.
Femi Kuti and his band, The Positive Force, will tour to major US cities in July:
5 New Orleans, LA Essence Music Festival
6 Chicago, IL The Metro (with Zap Mama DJ Project)
7 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest
10 St. Ambroiseee, QC St. Ambroise Jazz Festival
11 Toronto, ON Harbourfront Centre
12 Montreal, QC Festival International Nuits d'Afrique
13 Brooklyn, NY Celebrate Brooklyn (Prospect Park)
14 New York, NY Club Shelter (Saturday night/Sunday morning: 2:30am set)
15 Albany, NY Washington Park
16 Darien Center, NY Darien Lake Perf. Arts Center (with String Cheese Incident)
17 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
19 Detroit, MI The Concert of Colors (Chene Park)
21 Apple Valley, MN Music in the Zoo (Outdoor Amp.)
23 Salt Lake City, UT Univ. of Utah (Red Butte Garden)
25 Portland, OR Oregon Zoo Amphitheatre
26 Medford, OR Britt Festival
27 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
28 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl (with Les Nubians, Spearhead)
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