On Saturday, October 13th, Kanye West reactivated his Twitter account after deleting it for a week. He posted a long, winding Periscope video in which he said he is the "best living recording artist" and that the spirits of Fela Kuti, Bob Marley and Tupac Shakur are "flowing through him."
As The Fader reports, Fela Kuti's relatives are not too jazzed about this. In a statement, the legendary musician's son Seun Kuti said, "on behalf of the Kuti family, I want to state that the spirit of Olufela Anikulapo Kuti isn't anywhere near Kanye West."
West's meeting with Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni hasn't gone over well, either. Museveni has held power for over 32 years while being accused of various human rights abuses – Ugandan musician, member of Parliament, and opposition leader Bobbi Wine was arrested and tortured by Museveni's administration in August, and has slammed West for meeting with him.
Wine told The Guardian that it was "immoral" for West to "rub shoulders with the president."
"[West] is hobnobbing with a president who has been in power now for 32 years and restricts any freedom, a country where opposition activists are tortured and imprisoned," said Wine.
He continued, "It would have been great if [West] had used his voice for the good of people in Africa. I'm a musician but I am not allowed to stage a show in my own country because I disagree with the president. It is very disappointing."
As The Fader notes, West, the world's most famous Trump supporter, may have chosen Uganda to record because of Museveni's stance on the US president. After Trump made comments calling African nations "shithole countries," Museveni claimed to agree with him, saying, "America has got one of the best presidents ever... I love Trump because he tells the Africans frankly... the Africans need to solve their problems, they need to be strong. It is the fault of the Africans that they are weak."
Photo via BFA
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