“How my Maternal Grandmother Saved my Life” – Femi Kuti
Afro Beat Icon, Femi Kuti and his sister, Yeni recently lost their maternal grandmother. Femi, who is late Fela Kuti‘s eldest son, took to his page to pen a tribute to the great woman who changed his life (read here).
”My Maternal Grandmother, who changed my life, by talking sense into me changing my whole attitude positively. Will miss u thanks for the LOVE and CARE (RIP) you will always be in my heart of hearts,” he wrote.
In an exclusive interview with Thenetng last year, Femi recounted the moment with the British grandma that impacted him greatly:
”My maternal grandmother saved my life by talking sense into me that ‘you are a useless musician. You know what, all my life listening to musicians, you are the lousiest musician I’ve heard. Do you think because you are Fela’s son, who the hell cares’.”
This was the period president Buhari jailed his late father, so he had to move back to his mother’s house.
Femi also joked that if it were somebody else that said all that the grandma said, he could have taken a gun and killed the person for rubbishing him.
”But she spoke the truth, so I was crying inside. When she now left my room I cried cried cried, I cried all night. So if I gave anybody credit, it would have been her, not even my father,” Femi added.
The 54-year-old singer also added that he started practicing for a minimum of six hours everyday, after his grandma’s comments, and so he was able to improve on his craft.
Photo credit: Instagram
The love of a grandma to a grandchild is a special one.
Awwwwww so inspiring.
Wonderful
wow