Fela: The Music Is the Weapon

This rousing celebration of Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (1938–1997)—Afrobeat star, truth-teller, commune leader, and frequent “rascal”—blends brisk biographical storytelling with urgent cultural and political history, gorgeous evocations of the power of music and dance, and bursts of bloody violence both factual and fantastical. Nigerian Canadian debut artist Fagbamiye and writer McCreery (Kill Shakespeare) mix documentary realism with a touch of the mystic even in staple music bio scenes of Fela playing to empty clubs in his early days or alienating key collaborators. More showstopping scenes capture Fela’s reclamation of funk as an African expression when booing Nigerian crowds would have preferred to hear James Brown; his late 1960s radicalization in L.A., inspired by the Black Power movement and a lover; and his denunciations of corrupt Nigerian politicians from the stage of his polygamous commune in Lagos—which the Nigerian army eventually invades in a scene of nightmarish violence. Between the colorful escapades unfolds a layered exploration of cultural exchange between people of the African diaspora, and a robust portrayal of a charismatic yet flawed artist whose revolution kept dozens of “Queens” on a planned “sex schedule.” Fagbamiye’s Fela is a force for Pan-African unity and an all-too-human icon. The result is a graphic biography as outraged, outrageous, and swaggering as its subject. Agent: Tanya McKinnon, McKinnon Literary. (Oct.)