7357

    Fela Kuti Monkey Banana And Excuse O

    Knitting Factory Records
      • 1. Monkey Banana
      • 2. Sense Wiseness
      • 3. Excuse O
      • 4. Mr Grammarticalogyisationalism Is The Boss

      Yet more essential afro beat classics from the king of Nigerian music, Fela Kuti! Monkey Banana - reflects his social consciousness in deploring the poor conditions of workers' lives in Nigeria. "Sense Wiseness' has a funkier beat and prominent high, glistening electric keyboards, the backdrop for lyrics criticizing the educated segment of Africa's population for absorbing Western ways.

      Monkey Banana was combined with another 1975 album, Excuse O.


      Deluxe digipack, with booklet including Fela’s biography and track-by-track commentary from Afrobeat historian Chris May.


      Highly Recommended!

      Other Releases by Fela Kuti

      Fela KutiIkoyi BlindnessKnitting Factory Records
      Fela used the cover of ‘Ikoyi Blindness’ to announce his change of middle name from Ransome, which he now considered a slave name, to Anikulapo, which...
      • – Ikoyi Blindness
      • – Gba Mi Leti Ki N'Dolowo (Slap Me Make I Get Money)
      Fela KutiOriginal SufferheadKnitting Factory Records
      This edition of ‘Original Sufferhead’ is a major event. With the release of ‘Box Set #5’, and now on this reissue, the title track of this magnificent...
      • – Original Sufferhead
      • – Power Show
      Fela KutiOriginal SufferheadKnitting Factory Records
      This edition of ‘Original Sufferhead’ is a major event. With the release of ‘Box Set #5’, and now on this reissue, the title track of this magnificent...
      • – Original Sufferhead
      • – Power Show
      Fela KutiO.D.O.O. (Overtake Don Overtake Overtake)Knitting Factory Records
      ‘Overtake Don Overtake Overtake’ was the penultimate album of newly recorded studio material released by Fela before he passed in 1997.Like its immediate...
        Fela KutiExcuse-OKnitting Factory Records
        ‘Excuse O’ is about natural human reactions to situations we confront in our daily endeavours. If you walk into a bar, ask and pay for a drink and...
        • – Excuse-O
        • – Mr Grammarticalogy - lisationalism Is The Boss
        • New LP (Coloured Vinyl) KFR2014-3£20.99
          In stockAdd to Bag
        Fela KutiKalakuta ShowKnitting Factory Records
        The ‘Kalakuta Show’ album was Fela Kuti’s undaunted manner of extracting revenge on the military regime that attacked and brutalized him in 1974....
        • – Kalakuta Show
        • – Don't Make Garan Garan
        • New LP (Coloured Vinyl) KFR2020-3£20.99
          In stockAdd to Bag
        Fela KutiNoise For Vendor MouthKnitting Factory Records
        The Nigerian establishment labelled Kalakuta Republic inhabitants as ‘hooligans’, ‘hemp smokers’, etc. ‘Noise For Vendor Mouth’ is Fela’s...
        • – Noise For Vendor Mouth
        • – Mattress
        • New LP (Coloured Vinyl) KFR2019-3£20.99
          In stockAdd to Bag
        Fela KutiWhy Black Man They SufferKnitting Factory Records
        ‘Why Black Man Dey Suffer’, recorded in 1971, was originally deemed too controversial for release by EMI, his label at the time. Having recently been...
        • – Why Black Man Dey Suffer
        • – Ikoyi Mentality vs Mushin Mentality
        • New LP (Coloured Vinyl) KFR2012-3£20.99
          In stockAdd to Bag
        Fela KutiBOX SET #6 CURATED BY IDRIS ELBA
        Very limited one-off pressing. Features the albums ‘Open & Close’, ‘Music of Many Colors’, ‘Stalemate’, ‘I Go Shout Plenty!!!’, ‘Live...
          • 7×LP Box set (2.2kg) KFR4008-1£105.00
            In stockAdd to Bag
          Fela KutiGentleman: 50th AnniversaryKnitting Factory Records
          “Gentleman is the last of Fela's early 1970s albums recorded with the Africa 70. The title track can be interpreted literally or as a metaphor concerning...
            • New LP (Coloured Vinyl) KFR2009-8£23.00
              Limited smoke coloured vinyl edition
              In stockAdd to Bag
            Fela KutiBoxset #5: Co-curated by Chris Martin & Femi KutiKnitting Factory Records
            Knitting Factory Records release the next installment of long-awaited vinyl reissues from the Fela Kuti catalog. Box Set #5 was co-curated by Fela’s...
              • 7×LP Box set (2.2kg) KFR4006-1£90.00
                In stockAdd to Bag
              Fela KutiArmy ArrangementKnitting Factory Records
              Fela Kuti stories Nigeria’s attempt at ‘democracy’ in 1979 after more than a decade ofmilitary rule told through this album, originally released...
              • – Army arrangement (vocal)
              Fela KutiCoffin For Head Of StateKnitting Factory Records
              Fela Kuti made some frantic albums in his career--ones that popped with his enthusiastic political disobedience and ones that roared with fury at the Nigerian...
              • – Coffin For Head Of State part 1
              Fela KutiJ.J.D (Johnny Just Drop!!) Live!! At Kalakuta RepublikKnitting Factory Records
              Originally released in 1977, ‘Johnny Just Drop (J.J.D.)’ features Fela lampooning Nigeria’s ‘been-tos’, people who had been to Europe or America...
                • LP + Download Code KFR2026-1£20.99
                  In stockAdd to Bag
                Fela KutiNo AgreementKnitting Factory Records
                ‘No Agreement’ is sometimes overlooked among Fela’s 1977 releases, eclipsed by albums such as ‘Johnny Just Drop (J.J.D.)’ and ‘Sorrow Tears...
                • – No Agreement
                • – Dog Eat Dog
                  Fela KutiUnderground SystemKnitting Factory Records
                  Reissue of one of Fela's later recordings, comprised of two extended tracks, the title cut and the classic, 'Pansa Pansa'.
                  • – Underground System
                  • – Pansa Pansa
                  Fela KutiAfrodisiacKnitting Factory Records
                  1973 Nigerian afro beat funk at it's best from the master - Fela Kuti 
                  • – Alu Jon Jonki Jon
                  • – Eko Ile
                  • LP + Download Code KFR2008-1£20.99
                    In stockAdd to Bag
                  Fela KutiI.T.T.Knitting Factory Records
                  'International Thief Thief' classic Fela from 1979
                    Fela KutiUp Side DownKnitting Factory Records
                    Upside Down’ and ‘Zombie’, both released in 1976, were made at the midpoint of an extraordinary three-year purple period during which Fela recorded...
                    • – Up Side Down
                    • – Go Slow
                    Fela KutiAlagbon Close Knitting Factory
                    Unmissable classic afro-beat! Alagbon Close represents one of the first times anyone had directly taken on the Nigerian authorities in such a brash manner!   
                    • – alagbon close
                    Fela KutiRoforofo Fight (2015 Reissue)Knitting Factory
                    Essential afro beat! A dancefloor bomb! You need this!! KILLER REISSUE of Fela Kuti's 1972 album Roforofo Fight! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
                    • – Roforofo Fight
                    • – Go Slow
                    Fela KutiNa PoiKnitting Factory Records
                    Hypnotic afrobeat bullet from 1972 - recorded in Lagos. Sprited percussion, tight horns, and pure funk! As with most of the great man's albums, this is...
                    • – na poi (part 1)
                    • – na poi (part 2)
                    • – you no go die...unless
                    • LP + Download Code KFR2021-1£20.99
                      In stockAdd to Bag
                    Fela KutiExpensive ShitKnitting Factory Records
                    'Expensive Shit' is one of Fela's most notorious albums! This killer afro-beat LP was originally release in 1975 and now gets a reissue on Brooklyn-based...
                    • – Expensive Shit
                    • – Water No Get Enemy
                    • LP + Download Code KFR2015-1£20.99
                      In stockAdd to Bag
                    Fela KutiHe Miss Road (2014 Vinyl Reissue)Knitting Factory Records
                    He Miss Road', also 1975, was produced by Ginger Baker. A deep and darker shade of afro-beat that is one of Fela's best.
                    • – He Miss Road
                    • – Monday Morning In Lagos
                    • – It's No Possible
                    Fela KutiBeasts Of No Nation / O.D.O.OKnitting Factory Records
                    After helping Fela Anikulapo Kuti with Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense, Wally Badarou then produced Beasts of No Nation. Another album that has been combined...
                    • – Beasts Of No Nation
                    Fela KutiAlagbon Close / Why Black Man Dey SufferKnitting Factory
                    Alagbon Close represents one of the first times anyone had directly taken on the Nigerian authorities in such a brash manner. Why Black Man Dey Suffer:...
                    • – Alagbon Close
                    Fela KutiExpensive Shit / He Miss RoadKnitting Factory Records
                    'Expensive Shit', from 1975, is one of Fela's most notorious albums. The title track recounts being framed by the police and his comical escape from certain...
                    • – Expensive Shit
                    Fela KutiOpen & Close / AfrodisiacKnitting Factory Records
                    Two classic Afro-beat albums on one bargain price CD! All Fela Kuti's albums are superb! Highly recommended!
                    • – Open & Close
                    Fela KutiOriginal Suffer Head And I.T.TKnitting Factory Records
                    Yet more essential afrobeat from the African equivalent of James Brown! All his albums are great!
                    • – I T T
                    Fela KutiEverything Scatter / Noise For Vendor MouthKnitting Factory Records
                    The king of afro beat does it again! Two essential classic albums on one budget CD!
                      Fela KutiYellow FeverKnitting Factory Records
                      Yellow Fever’ was originally released in 1976, during Fela’s extraordinarily prolific 1975-77 purple period, when he released 24 albums in Nigeria...
                      • – Yellow Fever
                      • – Na Poi ‘75

                      Other Releases on Knitting Factory Records

                      Fela KutiIkoyi BlindnessKnitting Factory Records
                      Fela used the cover of ‘Ikoyi Blindness’ to announce his change of middle name from Ransome, which he now considered a slave name, to Anikulapo, which...
                      • – Ikoyi Blindness
                      • – Gba Mi Leti Ki N'Dolowo (Slap Me Make I Get Money)
                      Fela KutiOriginal SufferheadKnitting Factory Records
                      This edition of ‘Original Sufferhead’ is a major event. With the release of ‘Box Set #5’, and now on this reissue, the title track of this magnificent...
                      • – Original Sufferhead
                      • – Power Show
                      Fela KutiOriginal SufferheadKnitting Factory Records
                      This edition of ‘Original Sufferhead’ is a major event. With the release of ‘Box Set #5’, and now on this reissue, the title track of this magnificent...
                      • – Original Sufferhead
                      • – Power Show
                      Fela KutiO.D.O.O. (Overtake Don Overtake Overtake)Knitting Factory Records
                      ‘Overtake Don Overtake Overtake’ was the penultimate album of newly recorded studio material released by Fela before he passed in 1997.Like its immediate...
                        Fela KutiExcuse-OKnitting Factory Records
                        ‘Excuse O’ is about natural human reactions to situations we confront in our daily endeavours. If you walk into a bar, ask and pay for a drink and...
                        • – Excuse-O
                        • – Mr Grammarticalogy - lisationalism Is The Boss
                        • New LP (Coloured Vinyl) KFR2014-3£20.99
                          In stockAdd to Bag
                        Fela KutiKalakuta ShowKnitting Factory Records
                        The ‘Kalakuta Show’ album was Fela Kuti’s undaunted manner of extracting revenge on the military regime that attacked and brutalized him in 1974....
                        • – Kalakuta Show
                        • – Don't Make Garan Garan
                        • New LP (Coloured Vinyl) KFR2020-3£20.99
                          In stockAdd to Bag
                        Fela KutiNoise For Vendor MouthKnitting Factory Records
                        The Nigerian establishment labelled Kalakuta Republic inhabitants as ‘hooligans’, ‘hemp smokers’, etc. ‘Noise For Vendor Mouth’ is Fela’s...
                        • – Noise For Vendor Mouth
                        • – Mattress
                        • New LP (Coloured Vinyl) KFR2019-3£20.99
                          In stockAdd to Bag
                        Fela KutiWhy Black Man They SufferKnitting Factory Records
                        ‘Why Black Man Dey Suffer’, recorded in 1971, was originally deemed too controversial for release by EMI, his label at the time. Having recently been...
                        • – Why Black Man Dey Suffer
                        • – Ikoyi Mentality vs Mushin Mentality
                        • New LP (Coloured Vinyl) KFR2012-3£20.99
                          In stockAdd to Bag
                        Fela KutiGentleman: 50th AnniversaryKnitting Factory Records
                        “Gentleman is the last of Fela's early 1970s albums recorded with the Africa 70. The title track can be interpreted literally or as a metaphor concerning...
                          • New LP (Coloured Vinyl) KFR2009-8£23.00
                            Limited smoke coloured vinyl edition
                            In stockAdd to Bag
                          Fela KutiBoxset #5: Co-curated by Chris Martin & Femi KutiKnitting Factory Records
                          Knitting Factory Records release the next installment of long-awaited vinyl reissues from the Fela Kuti catalog. Box Set #5 was co-curated by Fela’s...
                            • 7×LP Box set (2.2kg) KFR4006-1£90.00
                              In stockAdd to Bag
                            Fela KutiArmy ArrangementKnitting Factory Records
                            Fela Kuti stories Nigeria’s attempt at ‘democracy’ in 1979 after more than a decade ofmilitary rule told through this album, originally released...
                            • – Army arrangement (vocal)
                            Fela KutiCoffin For Head Of StateKnitting Factory Records
                            Fela Kuti made some frantic albums in his career--ones that popped with his enthusiastic political disobedience and ones that roared with fury at the Nigerian...
                            • – Coffin For Head Of State part 1
                            Fela KutiJ.J.D (Johnny Just Drop!!) Live!! At Kalakuta RepublikKnitting Factory Records
                            Originally released in 1977, ‘Johnny Just Drop (J.J.D.)’ features Fela lampooning Nigeria’s ‘been-tos’, people who had been to Europe or America...
                              • LP + Download Code KFR2026-1£20.99
                                In stockAdd to Bag
                              Fela KutiNo AgreementKnitting Factory Records
                              ‘No Agreement’ is sometimes overlooked among Fela’s 1977 releases, eclipsed by albums such as ‘Johnny Just Drop (J.J.D.)’ and ‘Sorrow Tears...
                              • – No Agreement
                              • – Dog Eat Dog
                                Fela KutiUnderground SystemKnitting Factory Records
                                Reissue of one of Fela's later recordings, comprised of two extended tracks, the title cut and the classic, 'Pansa Pansa'.
                                • – Underground System
                                • – Pansa Pansa
                                Fela KutiAfrodisiacKnitting Factory Records
                                1973 Nigerian afro beat funk at it's best from the master - Fela Kuti 
                                • – Alu Jon Jonki Jon
                                • – Eko Ile
                                • LP + Download Code KFR2008-1£20.99
                                  In stockAdd to Bag
                                Fela KutiI.T.T.Knitting Factory Records
                                'International Thief Thief' classic Fela from 1979
                                  Fela KutiUp Side DownKnitting Factory Records
                                  Upside Down’ and ‘Zombie’, both released in 1976, were made at the midpoint of an extraordinary three-year purple period during which Fela recorded...
                                  • – Up Side Down
                                  • – Go Slow
                                  Fela KutiNa PoiKnitting Factory Records
                                  Hypnotic afrobeat bullet from 1972 - recorded in Lagos. Sprited percussion, tight horns, and pure funk! As with most of the great man's albums, this is...
                                  • – na poi (part 1)
                                  • – na poi (part 2)
                                  • – you no go die...unless
                                  • LP + Download Code KFR2021-1£20.99
                                    In stockAdd to Bag
                                  Fela KutiExpensive ShitKnitting Factory Records
                                  'Expensive Shit' is one of Fela's most notorious albums! This killer afro-beat LP was originally release in 1975 and now gets a reissue on Brooklyn-based...
                                  • – Expensive Shit
                                  • – Water No Get Enemy
                                  • LP + Download Code KFR2015-1£20.99
                                    In stockAdd to Bag
                                  Fela KutiHe Miss Road (2014 Vinyl Reissue)Knitting Factory Records
                                  He Miss Road', also 1975, was produced by Ginger Baker. A deep and darker shade of afro-beat that is one of Fela's best.
                                  • – He Miss Road
                                  • – Monday Morning In Lagos
                                  • – It's No Possible
                                  Fela KutiBeasts Of No Nation / O.D.O.OKnitting Factory Records
                                  After helping Fela Anikulapo Kuti with Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense, Wally Badarou then produced Beasts of No Nation. Another album that has been combined...
                                  • – Beasts Of No Nation
                                  Fela KutiExpensive Shit / He Miss RoadKnitting Factory Records
                                  'Expensive Shit', from 1975, is one of Fela's most notorious albums. The title track recounts being framed by the police and his comical escape from certain...
                                  • – Expensive Shit
                                  Fela KutiOpen & Close / AfrodisiacKnitting Factory Records
                                  Two classic Afro-beat albums on one bargain price CD! All Fela Kuti's albums are superb! Highly recommended!
                                  • – Open & Close
                                  Fela KutiOriginal Suffer Head And I.T.TKnitting Factory Records
                                  Yet more essential afrobeat from the African equivalent of James Brown! All his albums are great!
                                  • – I T T
                                  Fela KutiEverything Scatter / Noise For Vendor MouthKnitting Factory Records
                                  The king of afro beat does it again! Two essential classic albums on one budget CD!
                                    Fela KutiYellow FeverKnitting Factory Records
                                    Yellow Fever’ was originally released in 1976, during Fela’s extraordinarily prolific 1975-77 purple period, when he released 24 albums in Nigeria...
                                    • – Yellow Fever
                                    • – Na Poi ‘75

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