Fela Kuti reissues and Felabration.

The Best of the Black President comes out on 10/27 and the nationwide schedule for Felabrations is out now. Tonight is the Chicago event, Listen:Up presents Felabration! with DJ Ron Trent and DJ Spinna at The Shrine tonight.

The interesting thing here is that the original "Felabrations" which date back to the early 1970s when Fela Kuti and his band took over the courtyard of the Empire Hotel in Lagos, Nigeria, and performed several nights a week to thousands of fans. The courtyard was called “The Shrine,” and became a very popular nightspot attended by a range of people from the kids of Lagos to professors, civil servants, government officials and even soldiers.

These events have been created to celebrate the re-mastering and reissue of the entirety of the legendary Fela Kuti catalogue, beginning on October 27 with the record and deluxe edition with DVD release of the compilation The Best Of The Black President, as well as the musical FELA! Check out a track off the upcoming re-issue.

Mp3: Fela Kuti - "Zombie"

For more information head over here.

His birthday was yesterday. He would have been 71.