Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti aka Femi Kuti, an Afrobeat singer, has revealed a prophecy made against his family immediately after the death of his father.
In an interview with Chude Jideonwo, Femi Kuti, the eldest son of late afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, stated that some people foretold that 12 of his family members would die in quick succession.
The prophecy came after the deaths of his father, sister, Shola Kuti, and a cousin.
Femi Kuti stated that the time was especially challenging for him because he was the family’s first son, they had internal family problems, and he was in charge.
Unfortunately, it was during that crisis that his wife, Funke left him and many just concluded that he would run mad.
In the multi-instrumentalist’s words:
“Fela had just gone [died]. My sister [Shola] had gone. My cousin had gone. Some people were predicting that 12 of us would die. And I [was] saying, is this prediction going to come true?
We had our internal family problems. They would say, ‘You know, you are the first son; you must do it.’ And I would say, ‘Who born me inside this wahala like this?’ Then my wife go [got separated from me]. And they said, ‘Femi is going mad.’ It was terrible.”
He, however, said he was thankful for the experience, adding that it made him who he is today.