Fela Kuti: Fear No Man

By: Jad Abumrad

Narrated by: Jad Abumrad

In a world that’s on fire, what is the role of art? What can music actually…do?

Can a song save a life? Change a law? Topple a president? Get you killed?

In Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, Jad Abumrad—creator of Radiolab, More Perfect, and Dolly Parton's America—tells the story of one of the great political awakenings in music: how a classically trained 'colonial boy' traveled to America, in search of Africa, only to return to Nigeria and transform his sound into a battering ram against the state—creating a new musical language of resistance called Afrobeat.

For years, the world’s biggest stars made pilgrimages to Nigeria to experience Fela’s Shrine, the epicenter of his musical revolution. But when the mix of art and activism got too hot, the state pulled out its guns, and literally opened fire.

Fela Kuti: Fear No Man is an uncategorizable mix of oral history, musicology, deep dive journalism, and cutting edge sound design that takes listeners deep inside Fela’s life, music, and legacy.

Drawing from over 200 interviews with Fela Kuti’s family, friends, as well as scholars, activists, and luminaries like Burna Boy, Paul McCartney, Questlove, Santigold, and former President Barack Obama (just to name a few), Fela Kuti: Fear No Man journeys deep into the soul of Afrobeat to explore the transformative power of art and the role artists can play in this current moment of global unrest.

An Audible Original presented by Audible and Higher Ground. Produced by Western Sound and Talkhouse

©2025 Higher Ground, LLC (P)2025 Audible Originals, LLC.

Outstanding

Well done. I learned so much about Fela. What an amazing history lesson and sociological perspective on the impact of Fela.

Music History

Power story of how music shapes our lives.
Loved learning about the journey of this “new to me” musician and activist.

Incredible research; engaging; real

Everyone should listen. The historical and personal context are insightful; the analysis of Fela’s music, life, and inspirations are incredible.

Fela’s legacy

Loved learning more about Fela’s life and his legacy.
Enjoyed the interviews with his children and finally giving a voice to the wives. Enjoyed learning about his mother’s legacy in Abeokuta. Hated the way Fela and his band and family were maltreated by the Nigerian government but glad this podcast featured these stories and didn’t hesitate to air the truth!

Outstanding, entertaining, and educational.

Wow. A must-listen!!! This series showcased the creation and evolution of the Afrobeat genre excellently, while highlighting the personal, historical, and political paradigm shifts and undercurrents at play in West AND managed to do so without sensationalizing or over glamorizing. Particularly enjoyed how intentional the content about Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was Fela Kuti’s mother, and her work as leading force in women’s activism in mid-20th-century Nigeria an educator, suffragist, and political campaigner directly inspired his music, and the world!

Great job

This is a must for anyone who is interested in music, especially African music of any kind.

Fela is more than

Great audio documentary full of visual inspiration and music to tell the life of one of thr world most influential people .The story of how two countries struggle to fight the same enemy shape Afrobeats.

Scattershot

Jad is innovative and ambitious to a fault. He made this too big of a topic, too big of a project. As a result, relatively little comprehensible is conveyed, and much seems unsupported by reliable facts.