Made Kuti: Why I exited my father’s band to start mine

Made, the son of veteran singer Femi Kuti, says he left his father’s band to focus on his music.

In a recent interview, the music star and grandson of Fela said he started performing with his dad when he was 6.

Made said he decided to leave his father’s music group so he could write and perform his songs.

The young Kuti said his family name does not frighten him but instead teaches him maturity and responsibility.

“I’ve been touring with my dad since I was about six years old. By the time I was ten, I had already done Glastonbury, the Hollywood Bowl and many other prestigious venues,” he said.

“By the time I was eleven, he stopped me from touring and said I should focus on school. So for ten years, I wasn’t on the road with him any more till I graduated from Trinity.

“I joined his band again and in between that, I was writing the Legacy Plus album. I already knew he knew that I would want to make and perform my own music.

“My band has 16 members and each person is very exceptional at what they do. I can’t manage a 16-man band whilst I also leave the country with him.

“He tours so frequently that I would not possibly have any time to dedicate to my own band. We didn’t even need to discuss it, we already knew. He fired me and I resigned.

“My family name does not bother me or put me under pressure. If anything, it enlightens me. It teaches me responsibility, maturity, history, and all the good qualities.”

Made, who announced his engagement to his fiancée Inedoye last year, disclosed that he will be getting married in November 2023.

“I have met a very wonderful woman and she is now a very permanent part of my life,” the young singer said.

“We should be married at the end of the year. The wedding is in November, hopefully. She is Christian.

“It is going to be a civic and traditional wedding. No church. It is going to happen in Lagos and my mum is the event planner.”