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Dallas’ Erykah Badu went on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon yesterday to promote a new box set of Fela Kuti’s music that she curated.
Knitting Factory Records has released this and three other vinyl box sets of the late afrobeat pioneer curated by famous musicians such as Brian Eno, Ginger Baker and the Roots drummer ?uestlove.
Fittingly, ?uestlove, also the resident drummer of the Tonight Show as a member of the Roots, backed Badu up on her mashup of her ’97 hit “On & On” (from the album Baduizm) with Kuti’s “Sorrow Tears and Blood” (from Kuti’s ’77 album of the same name).
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The Roots’ relationship with Badu goes way back. They produced and wrote many of the songs on Baduizm, and in ’99, Badu was featured on their first song to win a Grammy, “You Got Me.”
Watch Badu and the Roots’ dynamic performance, in which Badu proves she’s got a lot in common with skilled bandleader Kuti, above.
The seven-album Fela Kuti Box Set #4 came out Dec. 15 and also includes personal essays by Badu. Only 3,000 of these box sets were produced, but you can still buy one for $120.
