A popular singer, Ikuforiji Abdulrahman, aka Oxlade, won the adulation of many as he took the stage at ‘Felabration’, the ongoing annual music and cultural festival to celebrate the late afrobeat icon, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, at the New Afrika Shrine, Ikeja, Lagos State. It runs for a week, from October 9 to 15, 2023, to coincide with Fela’s birthday, which was on October 15, 1938.
Performing at the opening night of the event, Oxlade set the tone for the festival with his energetic and engaging performance. Delivering his hit tracks, such as ‘Away’, ‘O2’, ‘Ojuju’, ‘Kulosa’ and ‘Myself’, the singer wasted no time in getting a significant part of the audience on their feet.
Expressing delight at performing at the event, Oxlade said, “I feel fortunate to be playing here tonight, especially in celebration of the legendary Fela. I am happy and blessed. It means a lot to my career, and it made me happy that I got to do this at this point in my life.
“Everything is African music; nothing is taking the shine off anything. There has to be an evolution in life, and afrobeat has evolved too. We, younger artistes, propagating the Afrobeats genre owe our roots and success to afrobeat and the solid foundation Fela set. His contributions to the growth of the Nigerian music industry are undeniable.”
Meanwhile, other talented acts also took to the stage in quick succession to pay homage to Fela’s groundbreaking music and activism.
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