Jad Abumrad

You know, one of my favorite Fela trickster songs, I think of those trickster songs where he was sort of like playing tricks on the authority and then they'd come and raid him and then he'd make a song about the raid and then they'd raid him again.

One of them is called Calakuta Show.

I believe this was 1974.

It's not only like a really great, really funky song, but if you listen to the lyrics, it's almost like a news report, like an eyewitness news report about a raid.

I mean it's really – Fela's relationship with women is hard to wrap your mind around.

All I can say is that it was very important for us when we were reporting this series to speak with those women.

And by the way, I mean I see that particular marriage as a PR stunt and also kind of as an HR move.

Because he was bleeding talent at that moment.

This was after the house was burned down.

A lot of his band were like, this is ridiculous.

We're out.

A lot of his backup dancers were coming to the same conclusion.

And so I think the idea of marrying them was as much about trying to make sure people don't leave as it was anything else.

That's not to excuse it at all.

But I see that much more as a stunt and as an act of desperation, frankly.

Yeah, we spoke to three of the four that are still alive, as far as we can tell.

And what was really interesting is that they all insisted that they were there by choice, however we might judge them.

They did not want to be seen as political objects.

Each of them got there for their own reasons.

One of them, Laide, wanted to travel and see the world.