Music is a Positive Force

I had the pleasure of catching afrobeat star Femi Kuti in concert this week at the Highline Ballroom in New York. He's on tour with his Positive Force band to promote their new album Africa for Africa.

Femi is the son of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary musical pioneer and political activist who stirred up Nigeria in the 1970s and 80s. Fela's music embodies the universal struggle for rights, recognition, and an end to corruption. His lyrics are fiery even when his grooves remain mellow, blending psychedelic rock with James Brown, jazz, and West African high life.

Fela's songs confront the ills he observed in Nigerian society under repressive regimes: Political conformity is ridiculed in "Zombie" and "Mister Follow Follow," peace and resources run through "Water No Get Enemy," and the spirit of resistance animates "No Agreement."

Femi upholds a lot of his father's legacy—he leads the band from behind a Hammond organ and he solos on sax and trumpet when he isn't roaming with the microphone, delivering sweet songs as well as political lectures. What really sets Femi apart from his father is the more muscular, aggressive sound he has cultivated. His compositions blare with tight, punchy horns, and crisp drumming. The tempos are mostly up, breaking only rarely into an island lilt. Femi's body vibrates with the extra energy he couldn't cram into his songs, and even his audience banter hits like a confident staccato hammer of pidgin and English.

Femi also picks up his father's political messages, which continue to resonate in Nigeria some 14 years since Fela died from AIDS complications. The demands in "E No Good" are simple: electricity, drinkable water, housing, good health care, and good pay for doctors, teachers, and police. The afflictions are laid out in equally clear terms: corruption, lies, and inequality.

"Dem Bobo" [They Misinform]

So we struggle suffer dey [here]
For this new democratic change
But the truth of the matter be say
Dem disguise another way
To continue their crooked ways
Oh yes, dem bobo

"It Don't Mean"

When you are walking down the street
Or feeling cool in your brand new Lexus jeep
Because you got money, you feeling rich
Don't mean that the poverty does not exist

As a musician who has toured, Femi sees the pattern across Africa, the same problems and same pains in different countries, as well as the luxuries like social security considered common in rich countries. Generals oscillate with presidents yet the suffering and mago mago [illegal deals] remain. Goons are interchangeable.

"Africa for Africa"

Brothers and sisters
Our countries are colonial structures
Borderlines to keep us forever separated
We must love Africa
We must care for Africa
War and conflicts will only bring suffering and hunger
African leaders must bring us together

All these songs lean more to the descriptive than the prescriptive, which is often where the artist must pass the baton. So what are the good solutions? Can countries shed "Bad Government" without shedding blood as in Northern Africa?

Femi drew a diverse crowd here in New York, with the peoples of no particular continent dominating the mix. This testifies both to the universal power of music and to the potential of cities and democracies to help people live in harmony.

Neuroscientists have discovered that brain cells fire at the exact frequencies our ears hear. What better evidence could exist that reason will eventually prevail over the petty rivalries that divide us? The vibrations outside our bodies are matched in abstract purity inside our minds, and thus shared alike from mind to mind. Pair this with an inspiring message and the people become an unstoppable positive force.

Musicians have a serious responsibility when choosing the tones and stories with which to fill their listeners. Femi Kuti honors this sacred duty, and the legacy of his father, by building a musical shrine for free spirits.

Cambodia's Future: Norway or Nigeria?

I am in Cambodia this week researching the expected offshore oil and gas boom. The big question is: Will one of Asia’s poorest and most corrupt countries use its newfound wealth to invest in infrastructure and education or will it simply shore up its corrupt practices? Will Cambodia become a Norway or a Nigeria?

Yesterday I met a foreign energy businessman with years of experience in Cambodia. His prognosis for Cambodia’s future was optimistic. He sees Cambodia as becoming a hub for a rapidly growing region, potentially taking advantage of its central location. In terms of governance, he has witnessed several years of improvement and sees things as only getting better.

China’s recent mining disaster is clearly on the minds of businesspeople here. Not only is China's mining sector the world's most dangerous, it is also extremely corrupt. The businessman said many people, including Cambodians, are reluctant to make deals with Chinese investors and partners. He listed several risks: opacity of contracts; hidden stipulations in contracts; lack of employment opportunities for local workers (Chinese use their own contractors); corrupt practices; and outdated equipment. Although Chinese technology will improve within a decade or so, he wasn’t so sure about the other practices.

Corruption is a rotten disease that many businesses are trying to fight. This businessman’s company is partnered with an American company, meaning it must follow the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He said it is a lot of work to comply with these rigorous standards, but he sees corrupt practices as antithetical to profitable business for several reasons: first, it is a waste of money that is thrown away without accountability; second, bribes seem to compound and send signals that a company is willing to play a dirty game; finally, good practices are central to ethical business and a calm soul. “I am able to sleep at night,” he said.

Due to his company’s large profile in Cambodia, an international NGO recently investigated how it was able to secure large contracts. After its investigation, the NGO concluded that his company was clean. He wasn’t worried. I only wished that clean companies like that were showcased for their exemplary behavior. If businesspeople knew they had a choice to act ethically, I bet cleaner practices would catch on.

Big Tobacco goes global

Increasingly shut out of developed country markets by regulation, litigation and public opinion, Big Tobacco is taking its act on the road.

Altria Group is the US's largest tobacco manufacturer with about $9 billion in annual sales. In August 2007, Altria announced plans to spin off its Philip Morris International (PMI) unit from its domestic counterpart, Philip Morris USA. Analysts interpreted this as a sign that the company was looking to dodge an onerous US regulatory environment. Altria's board officially approved the spin-off plan on January 30th.

"Honesty, integrity and social responsibility are just as important to the way we measure ourselves [as profitability]," PMI boasts on its website. Yet, the government of Nigeria is suing the company for $44 billion, claiming that PMI has made deliberate attempts to market its products to underage Nigerians and sought to influence lawmakers to block regulation of tobacco sales. British American Tobacco (BAT) is also named in the suit.

A recent page one article in the The Wall Street Journal outlined PMI's plans for an "aggressive blitz" of new products outside the US.

By as early as March, PMI could be operating as an independent company -- the third most profitable consumer goods concern in the world after Procter & Gamble Co. and Nestlé SA. The move will make it easier for the tobacco behemoth to market an array of new smoking concepts, each targeted to different foreign populations, who, collectively are expected to smoke 5.2 trillion cigarettes this year.

Among these new concepts are Marlboro Intense, a half-inch cigarette that packs the full punch of a typically-sized one, and the Heatbar, which is simply described as a hand-held smoking device.

To appeal to customers in some emerging markets, the company is making sweet-smelling cigarettes that contain tobacco, cloves and flavoring -- with twice the tar and nicotine levels of a conventional U.S. cigarette.

And as with nearly everything related to global business, the future for companies like PMI looks decidedly Chinese. China has recenlty entered into a partnership with PMI to market 3 domestically produced Chinese cigarettes. And, since China boasts more smokers (350 million) than the total US population, the future looks exceedingly bright for Altria Group.

photo by noamgalai