Terry Gross

And I want to talk a little bit about his mother, Fumalayo Ransom Kuti.

Because before Fela became...

She had a women's club which taught women Christian values.

It had to be a good Christian wife.

But then women from the market who sold fabric started coming, and she realized they don't know how to read.

So she organized a literacy class to teach them how to read, and through that she found out about the problems they were having...

including the tax that the government had put on them that they couldn't afford to pay.

And so she organizes this protest movement.

Vela's mother organizes this tremendously powerful protest movement.

Can you describe the movement?

It's really a remarkable story.

And did people remember the role that she played?

Once Fela starts really understanding more about what his music is about, he creates a club called The Shrine, and it's mobbed.

I mean, once people hear his music, they want to hear more.

And he creates what he calls the Calakuta Republic, which includes his compound.

And by calling it the Calakuta Republic, it's basically...

A government-free zone where people smoke marijuana even though there's like a steep penalty if you're caught.

But it's his compound and it's his like free space and they get away with it.

How did he pull that off?

So one of the things you point out in the podcast is that, you know, his songs got him into a lot of trouble.