Fela Kuti and his wife, Remilekun (Remi) Taylor, shared a love story that began long before the spotlight of fame and the roar of political resistance. In the early 1960s, the two young lovers were far from the bustling streets of Lagos or the pulsating energy of the Shrine—Fela was a music student at the Trinity College of Music in London, and Remi, a British-born Nigerian woman, was part of his new world abroad.
They met in the vibrant cultural mix of post-war London, where African students, British jazz, and global ideas intermingled freely. Drawn together by shared heritage and a growing affection, they got married in 1960—the same year Nigeria gained independence. Their union marked the beginning of a personal journey that would produce not only a family but also the early emotional foundations of Fela’s legendary career.
Remilekun Taylor became Fela’s first wife and the mother of his first three children: Yeni, who would later become a renowned dancer and cultural curator; Femi, who would inherit and expand his father’s Afrobeat legacy; and Sola, their only daughter, who sadly passed away in 1997. During their early years together in London, Remi stood beside Fela as he experimented with sound, identity, and direction—far from the rebel icon he would later become.
Photographs from the 1960s capture them in quiet, elegant moments: a young couple full of promise, navigating life, music, and love in a foreign land. At that time, Fela was still Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti—a disciplined musician and dreamer—before he dropped the colonial “Ransome” and embraced “Anikulapo,” meaning “he who carries death in his pouch.”
Though their marriage eventually ended as Fela’s life took a more radical, unconventional turn—including his later controversial marriage to 27 women in 1978—Remilekun’s role in his life remains deeply significant. She was part of the quieter, more grounded chapter of Fela’s story—the years of building, of beginnings, of becoming.
In the grand narrative of Fela Kuti—the revolutionary, the cultural warrior, the Afrobeat pioneer—Remi stands as the woman who loved him first, the mother of his first children, and a witness to his transformation from a promising young musician to a global icon.
They met in the vibrant cultural mix of post-war London, where African students, British jazz, and global ideas intermingled freely. Drawn together by shared heritage and a growing affection, they got married in 1960—the same year Nigeria gained independence. Their union marked the beginning of a personal journey that would produce not only a family but also the early emotional foundations of Fela’s legendary career.
Remilekun Taylor became Fela’s first wife and the mother of his first three children: Yeni, who would later become a renowned dancer and cultural curator; Femi, who would inherit and expand his father’s Afrobeat legacy; and Sola, their only daughter, who sadly passed away in 1997. During their early years together in London, Remi stood beside Fela as he experimented with sound, identity, and direction—far from the rebel icon he would later become.
Photographs from the 1960s capture them in quiet, elegant moments: a young couple full of promise, navigating life, music, and love in a foreign land. At that time, Fela was still Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti—a disciplined musician and dreamer—before he dropped the colonial “Ransome” and embraced “Anikulapo,” meaning “he who carries death in his pouch.”
Though their marriage eventually ended as Fela’s life took a more radical, unconventional turn—including his later controversial marriage to 27 women in 1978—Remilekun’s role in his life remains deeply significant. She was part of the quieter, more grounded chapter of Fela’s story—the years of building, of beginnings, of becoming.
In the grand narrative of Fela Kuti—the revolutionary, the cultural warrior, the Afrobeat pioneer—Remi stands as the woman who loved him first, the mother of his first children, and a witness to his transformation from a promising young musician to a global icon.
Fela Kuti and his wife, Remilekun (Remi) Taylor, shared a love story that began long before the spotlight of fame and the roar of political resistance. In the early 1960s, the two young lovers were far from the bustling streets of Lagos or the pulsating energy of the Shrine—Fela was a music student at the Trinity College of Music in London, and Remi, a British-born Nigerian woman, was part of his new world abroad.
They met in the vibrant cultural mix of post-war London, where African students, British jazz, and global ideas intermingled freely. Drawn together by shared heritage and a growing affection, they got married in 1960—the same year Nigeria gained independence. Their union marked the beginning of a personal journey that would produce not only a family but also the early emotional foundations of Fela’s legendary career.
Remilekun Taylor became Fela’s first wife and the mother of his first three children: Yeni, who would later become a renowned dancer and cultural curator; Femi, who would inherit and expand his father’s Afrobeat legacy; and Sola, their only daughter, who sadly passed away in 1997. During their early years together in London, Remi stood beside Fela as he experimented with sound, identity, and direction—far from the rebel icon he would later become.
Photographs from the 1960s capture them in quiet, elegant moments: a young couple full of promise, navigating life, music, and love in a foreign land. At that time, Fela was still Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti—a disciplined musician and dreamer—before he dropped the colonial “Ransome” and embraced “Anikulapo,” meaning “he who carries death in his pouch.”
Though their marriage eventually ended as Fela’s life took a more radical, unconventional turn—including his later controversial marriage to 27 women in 1978—Remilekun’s role in his life remains deeply significant. She was part of the quieter, more grounded chapter of Fela’s story—the years of building, of beginnings, of becoming.
In the grand narrative of Fela Kuti—the revolutionary, the cultural warrior, the Afrobeat pioneer—Remi stands as the woman who loved him first, the mother of his first children, and a witness to his transformation from a promising young musician to a global icon.
English
Arabic
French
Spanish
Portuguese
Deutsch
Turkish
Dutch
Italiano
Romaian
Portuguese (Brazil)
Greek