Fela Kuti: Fear No Man

by Jad Abumrad

In a world that’s on fire, what is the role of art? What can music actually…do?

Can a song save a life? Change a law? Topple a president? Get you killed?

In Fela Fear No Man , Jad Abumrad—creator of Radiolab, More Perfect, and Dolly Parton's America—tells the story of one of the great political awakenings in how a classically trained 'colonial boy' traveled to America, in search of Africa, only to return to Nigeria and transform his sound into a battering ram against the state—creating a new musical language of resistance called Afrobeat.

For years, the world’s biggest stars made pilgrimages to Nigeria to experience Fela’s Shrine, the epicenter of his musical revolution. But when the mix of art and activism got too hot, the state pulled out its guns, and literally opened fire.

Fela Fear No Man is an uncategorizable mix of oral history, musicology, deep dive journalism, and cutting edge sound design that takes listeners deep inside Fela’s life, music, and legacy.

Drawing from over 200 interviews with Fela Kuti’s family, friends, as well as scholars, activists, and luminaries like Burna Boy, Paul McCartney, Questlove, Santigold, and former President Barack Obama (just to name a few), Fela Fear No Man journeys deep into the soul of Afrobeat to explore the transformative power of art and the role artists can play in this current moment of global unrest.

An Audible Original presented by Audible and Higher Ground. Produced by Western Sound and Talkhouse

Audible Audio

Published September 18, 2025

Reviews

[Liam Ragan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really moving and thoughtfully done piece on an artist I already appreciated from the outskirts without any understanding of the central role they played in music / African history. The overarching theme of cyclical history and music as a weapon of the future is something I’ll be mulling over for a long time.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read about this in Mojo magazine and discovered that it was available on Audible. Honestly, this is a hybrid audiobook/podcast, but probably not a true book. At any rate, I invested 8+ hours listening, so I'm calling it fair game. Hats off to Abumrad for a supremely thorough deep dive into Fela the man. The number of interviews from those close to Fela and those qualified to speak on his life were staggering. Abumrad gets an A+ in this category. However, I'm going to call this an overall missed opportunity. There's shamefully little sub-surface-level information on Fela's music. I know this is a daunting task for anyone, but outside of some wide lens quality commentary on Fela's musical shifts (due to politics, structure, band elements) there are very few insightful views into the making of key albums outside of Zombie and a few select others. Maybe this wasn't the purpose of this audiobook? Also, Abumrad as narrator was actually awful at times. Yes, he is very passionate about Fela, but listening to his non-objective asides was distracting for me. Again, maybe this was supposed to lighten things up, but it came off as unprofessional and fanboyish in a not-endearing way. Long story short: if you want to learn more about Fela - warts and all - this is worth your time, but don't expect this to shed a lot of light on Fela the musician. It's mostly a 30,000 ft. view from that perspective.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mix of music and interviews, especially appreciated the section on Kuti’s mother.

[Conor Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting got a bit stuck with too many modern stars at points. 4.5/5