SEUN KUTI & EGYPT 80 Release New Single with Black Thought, “Kuku Kee Me (Remix)”
“Kuku Kee Me (Remix)” is the first of several new hip-hop versions of songs from Seun Kuti & Egypt 80’s 2018 Grammy®-nominated album Black Times, in collaboration with Black Thought—co-founder/MC of Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show house band The Roots.
This lead single perfectly marries the two artists’ unique but global perspectives, combing funky beats and blistering verses to share the message of “people power” in the world today. The track is an official soundtrack selection for FIFA 23 and is accompanied by an animated music video, ready for you to post right now:
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“Kuku Kee Me (Remix)” follows the recent release of two songs from Seun Kuti & Egypt 80’s upcoming album, “Love and Revolution” and “Emi Aluta.” These tracks were recorded live at Clout Studio, the legendary premises of Cool FM 96.9 on Victoria Island in Lagos. They last worked with Black Thought on Common’s single “When We Move,” which debuted worldwide for UN World Oceans Day before a performance on The Tonight Show, with footage of Seun at The New Afrika Shrine in Lagos intercut with Common, Black Thought, and The Roots live on-stage in New York.
The youngest son of visionary Fela Kuti, Seun Kuti has continued the family tradition of fusing music and politics into something transcendent. He started opening for his dad at age nine and joined Egypt 80 before he was twelve. He assumed leadership of the band following his father’s passing in 1997 and has led it ever since. Seun performs his father’s compositions with his own twists, digging deep into to the seminal Afrobeat canon and various African traditions and cultures. Like his parents and grandparents, Seun is a revolutionary activist on the frontlines who has been named Pro-Tem Chairman of Movement of the People, the political party launched by his father. With his weekly radio show, his mythical gigs, and a righteous social media presence, Seun is a towering figure in Nigeria and revered worldwide.
In 2011, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80’s live record From Africa with Fury: Rise, co-produced by Brian Eno and John Reynolds, landed on both Billboard and digital international charts. The album was their first with Knitting Factory Records before joining Knitting Factory Management in 2021. Still retaining members of the group that played, protested, and were arrested with his father, they have a reputation for playing multi-hour shows as heavy on group improvisation as they are on composition. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 are currently on tour across the US and Europe through November
