Fela Kuti

Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), or just Fela, was a Nigerian musician and composer who was very important in a genre called afrobeat. He played the saxophone, guitar, drums, keyboards and trumpet, and he sang. He was also a human rights activist. The American singer James Brown said that Kuti was one of the originators (starters) of the funk genre.
Kuti died in 1997 of Kaposi's sarcoma, an illness caused by AIDS. In 2008 a musical production called "Fela!" was created, about Kuti's life and career.