Who Can Play Fela Better? Chiwetel Ejiofor or Dede Mabiaku?




There are words going round that famous British Nigerian actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Half of a Yellow Sun, Dirty Pretty Things, Serenity, Inside Man, American Gangster, Talk to Me, Children of Men) is being tipped to play late king of Afrobeat Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) in a biopic to be directed by Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, Shame, Hunger) or Andrew Dosunmu (Restless City, Mother of George). But I don’t think Ejiofor can play Fela, because I doubt if he would be able to capture the Nigerian street characteristics of Fela and speak the raw Pidgin English of Fela too. The best bet is to use a born and bred in Nigeria actor like Dede Mabiaku, who even acts Fela better than Femi Kuti and Seun, the sons of the enigmatic and iconic musician.

Chiwetel Ejiofor.


Dede Mabiaku epitomizes the art and spirit of “Felasophy” of the legendary King of Afrobeat and was his protégé for more than a decade and bonded with him and Fela’s Egypt 80 band as Dede was on tour with Fela for several years. So, if there is anyone who can really play the role of Fela on stage or cinema, it is Dede Mabiaku who is also a talented award winning actor.

Dede Mabiaku and Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

Dede Mabiaku in one of his Afrobeat performances.


The guy Sahr Ngaujah who played Fela in the critically acclaimed and successful 2009 Broadway musical “Fela!” is the American version of Fela and even the Afrobeat King would have been more amused than be thrilled, because Sahr Ngaujah could not dance like Fela in “Fela!”. The musical was Off-Broadway for one month in 2008 before it premiered on Broadway on November 23, 2009. The Off-Broadway production won the Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Musical, Outstanding Choreographer for Bill T. Jones, and Outstanding Costume Design for Marina Draghici. The Broadway production received eleven 2010 Tony Award nominations and won Best Choreography, Best Costume Design of a Musical, and Best Sound Design of a Musical. But when it comes to making the biopic, Dede Mabiaku should be the best bet.



~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima








submit to reddit

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Addax Petroleum Announces Federal Government Approval of Nigeria Gas Utilisation Initiative

1 Aug 2008 14:21 Africa/Lagos Addax Petroleum Announces Federal Government Approval of Nigeria Gas Utilisation Initiative CALGARY, Canada, August 1/PRNewswire/ -- - International Consortium Formed for Investment in Gas Development - Including the Potential Monetization of OML137 Gas Addax Petroleum Corporation (TSX: AXC and LSE: AXC) ("Addax Petroleum" or the "Corporation"), together with its partners Chrome Oil Services Limited ("Chrome") and Korea Gas Corporation ("KOGAS"), announces today that it has received the approval from the Federal Government of Nigeria, for its proposed implementation of an integrated gas utilization project in Nigeria. Addax Petroleum has also entered into a heads of agreement with Chrome, a leading Nigerian oil and gas company, and KOGAS, South Korea's national gas company, forming an international consortium (the "Consortium") which, upon finalization of the necessary project development agreemen...
Read more

Terrorist Attacks on America Before Osama Bin Laden Was Born : 1920 -2005.

Image
This is a record of all terrorist attacks in America and in countries with American interests and on American Embassies and citizens abroad. Osama bin Laden did not create the demons of terrorism. He is only one of the most diabolical and destructive of them all. The devil is the author of Terrorism in his capacity as the Son of Perdition and the father of chaos. It is very important to clarify these issues for the benefit of those who are ignorant and naive and have been jumping to erroneous conclusions. Terrorist Attacks (within the United States or against Americans abroad) 1920: septa. 16, New York City: TNT bomb planted in unattended horse-drawn wagon exploded on Wall Street opposite House of Morgan , killing 35 people and injuring hundreds more. Bolshevist or anarchist terrorists believed responsible, but crime never solved. 1975 Jan. 24, New York City: bomb set off in historic Fraunces Tavern killed 4 and injured more than 50 people. Puerto Rican nationalist group...
Read more

Let Us Talk To Boko Haram - Nigerian Professor

Image
A Commentary Direct Talk and Psychological Accessibility to the Boko Haram Group Is worth the Trial in Nigeria It is now obvious that the nation is now fully plagued by terrorism which is so widespread and monumental that it is hard to unravel. At a time when the Nigerian air is filled with the festivities of Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice, which in a supposed way should involve the slaughter sheep and cattle, and not the near-sacrifice of a son, as in Abraham’s case, but the reverse is the case.Human slaughter is in our face on a daily basis in Nigeria due to the Boko Haram wrath. Violence in Nigeria, a country of more than 150 million with an almost equal split between the Christian south and the Muslim north is affecting public safety and national security. Nothing appears to be stopping the inflammable and untamed-able torment, fear and worry across the country. There appears to be a legitimate state of distress nationally, and the cause of the state of distress is growing d...
Read more