EPISODE · Jan 23, 2026 · 1H 5M
EP 53: Kaleta on Afrobeat, Fela Kuti, and the Power of Collective Music
from MFM SPEAKS OUT · host Kaleta, Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi, SoSaLa
Guest: Leon "Kaleta" Ligan-Majekodunmi (Afrobeat guitarist, composer, bandleader)Host: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi, aka SoSaLa, MFM PresidentKey Topics & HighlightsKaleta’s early life in BeninGrowing up near the Nigerian borderSecretly learning guitar against family expectationsFirst musical breakthroughs through church and street performancesMoving to Lagos at age 15Learning English while building a music careerImmersion in juju, highlife, and early AfrobeatJoining King Sunny Adé’s band as a teenagerWriting and recording “E Ba Mi Dupe”Kaleta’s composition recorded by King Sunny AdéBreakdown of juju guitar techniquesJoining Fela KutiAuditioning at the ShrineLife inside Kalakuta RepublicAfrobeat as discipline, politics, and collective thinkingTouring globally with Fela through the 1980s and early ’90sImmigration and life after FelaStaying in the U.S. after Fela’s final tour (1991)Rebuilding from scratchFounding multiple Afrobeat projects in New YorkWorking with Lauryn HillA chance rehearsal encounter led to touring togetherAfrobeat’s influence across genres and generations“Country of Guns”Writing the song after witnessing gun violence news in the U.S.Music as social commentary, not just entertainmentAfrobeat in AmericaThoughts on Antibalas and non-African Afrobeat bandsAfrobeat vs. modern AfrobeatsAfrobeat as “roots music,” not museum musicMusic, organizing, and musicians’ rightsFESTAC 77 FESTIVAL and Pan-Africanism Why musicians must act collectivelyParallels between Fela’s activism and MFM’s missionMusic Featured in the EpisodeKing Sunny Adé – E Ba Mi Dupe (composed/arranged by Kaleta)Zozo Afrobeat – Country of GunsKaleta & Super Yamba Band – Mr. DivaKaleta & Super Yamba Band – Ajogan Blues CreditsProducer and host: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi aka SoSaLaPublisher: Musicians For Musicians (MFM), Inc.Technical support: Adam Reifsteck (MFM Board)https://musiciansformusicians.org
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What this episode covers
Legendary Afrobeat guitarist Leon "Kaleta" Ligan-Majekodunmi joins "MFM Speaks Out" to share his 50-year journey through music, activism, and survival. From growing up in Benin and Lagos to touring with Fela Kuti, King Sunny Adé, Shina Peters, and Lauryn Hill, Kaleta reflects on Afrobeat as both a musical language and a political force. The conversation explores Kaleta’s firsthand experiences inside Fela’s world, and what it means to carry cultural responsibility as an artist in diaspora. Along the way, Kaleta reflects on immigration, artistic survival, gun violence in America, and why music must always carry a message. This is a powerful, unfiltered look at Afrobeat’s past, present, and future — told by someone who lived it.
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EP 53: Kaleta on Afrobeat, Fela Kuti, and the Power of Collective Music
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